


Your place or mine

by tatooedlaura



Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-06-07 00:52:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6778132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatooedlaura/pseuds/tatooedlaura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Usually, it's whoever has toilet paper ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Your place or mine?”

Scully looked at him out of the corner of her eye, knowing the answer but still making him work for it, “excuse me?”

Mulder looked back at her out of the corner of his own eye, still miraculously keeping the car driving in a straight line, “end of new case, end up at new place. Last case was your place, new case should be my place but I’m giving you the option ‘cause that’s the kind of guy I am.”

Her smile overtook her, “did you buy any toilet paper yet?”

“Nope.”

Scully held up her hand and pointed left out his window, “my place it is.”

“The power of available toilet paper.”

“I’m buying you some next time I’m at the store.”

Letting his smile through as well, “Thank God. Those McDonald’s napkins are making things kind of rough.”

With a groan and a shake of her head, Scully propped her arm on the door, hand over her forehead, holding back her laughter, “you are truly one of a kind.”

“Indeed.”

&&&&&&&&&

Walking up to Scully’s door, Mulder patiently held their bags while she fished for keys, retrieved her dropped keys from the floor and then untangled her keys from each other. She turned to look up at him sheepishly and saw him just waiting, knowing she’d get her shit together eventually. Shrugging, “don’t let me touch anything breakable tonight, all right?”

“No kidding.” As she stuck her tongue out at him, she managed to drop her keys again and he smirked, “would you like me to do it?”

Holding out the keys, “yes or else we’ll never get inside and I’m cold and hungry and getting cranky.”

Mulder dropped the bags in one collective thud on the hall carpet and let them into the apartment unscathed. Taking the bags Scully handed in from the hallway, he bowed to her as she passed by, “welcome home.”

He got a swat on the chest for this before she headed down the hall, “back in a minute.”

Her consistent need to use the bathroom as soon as they arrived at either of their apartments amused him to no end, given he’d witnessed her going for nearly 24 hours without peeing and never breaking a sweat during a case. Deciding, however, that he’d not pick on her about it, at least right now, he shoved the bags behind the chair and headed into the kitchen, already digging in her refrigerator by the time she returned. Hearing her now stocking feet shuffling across the living room carpet, he called over his shoulder as he shut the fridge and moved to lean on the counter, “hey, what do you want for dinner?”

The clock on the microwave told her it wasn’t even 4pm yet, “Isn’t it early for actual dinner?”

“I’m hungry, you’re hangry, who the hell cares what time it is?”

Stomach grumbling, she swore she felt her blood sugar level drop another three points as she pulled the freezer open, “freezer. Spaghetti noodles and already made sauce. Gonna dig ‘em out and heat ‘em up.”

“Ahh, I love it when you get all sentence fragmenty.” Snagging the flying, frozen, brick-like package of sauce from the air as it flew directly at his head, “damn, no keys and no throwing things tonight. Is it a full moon? Does Orion have his skirt in a bunch?”

That’s when the laughter began. It started with a small and subtle chuckle that progressed swiftly into a nasally symphonic snort, followed closely with what Mulder could only describe as a boom of laughter. He however, held his own in, simply standing silently across from her, a puzzled expression fixed on his face.

With tears rolling down her cheek, she calmed enough to look at him clearly, but before she could wonder why he wasn’t laughing, he tilted his head, innocently asking, “was he wearing underwear because if he wasn’t, then it really would be a full moon?”

She was gone again, this time taking him with her, the pair of them giggling for the next ten minutes while they heated up food and dished up plates. Eventually, they made it to the couch, spaghetti stacked high and nary a napkin in sight.

Scully really should have known better than to eat without a napkin, especially after the day she’d been having. It didn’t take long for her to emit a not so mumbled, “son of a bitch” to which Mulder silently stood and retrieved a dishtowel for her. He then exchanged the towel for her plate and watched her retreat to the bedroom, already yanking her until then clean and fairly new sweater over her head.

Mulder sat back down, choosing to eat but eat slowly so he wouldn’t get done too much before her. It didn’t take long and first he heard rustling down the hall, then her progress into the kitchen where a cupboard opened and shut. Next came an odd swishing noise followed by Scully moving around the couch and sitting back down.

He nearly choked on his noodles.

She had stripped to a tank top, then stuffed a small white trash bag into the collar, creating a lovely white bib that covered her to the waist and well past each shoulder. Giving Mulder a burning look that dared him to laugh, “if this doesn’t work, I’m eating naked in the bathtub.”

Managing to not die by spaghetti, he finally swallowed down his mouthful before nodding in her direction, “I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t tell you I’m rooting for the bathtub.”

Another snort escaped as she smiled, shaking her head as she managed to get a forkful into her mouth without incident. Talking around the noodles, “I’m pretty sure I never doubted it for a second.”

&&&&&&&&&

Dinner consumed cleanly, Scully stuffed the trash bag back in the closet and disappeared again down the hall. Coming back wearing a long-sleeved thermal shirt, she found Mulder standing at the front window, “anything interesting?”

“It’s snowing.”

Scully came up next to him, “was is supposed to snow? I haven’t looked at a forecast in a week.”

Shrugging, “no idea. Doesn’t look like much now though.” He turned towards her, “I think I can hear your DVD player calling our name.”

“Your pick, my pick, our pick?”

Going for broke, “one of each?”

Immediately she dropped to the corner of the sofa, “movie marathon on a snowy evening. I like how you think.”

Mulder laughed at her and headed towards her stash of movies, “want anything to drink before we get going?”

“Nope. Just need that afghan from the chair as you go by and I’m all set.”

&&&&&&&&&&

By the end of Mulder’s pick, ‘What about Bob?’, the room was considerably darker and Scully was considerably warmer, afghan wrapped around her torso and head resting against the arm of the couch. Mulder, however, was considerably colder, given the fact that Scully had refused to share her blanket with him and the other ones she owned were all the way across the room, too far a trek for him at that time.

Now that the movie had finished, though, Mulder realized just how chilled he was, “woman, does the furnace work in this place?”

Half asleep four feet from him, she mumbled over her shoulder in his general area, “it works. It’s just drafty when the wind blows in a certain direction.”

“Which direction is that?”

Deadpanning, “inside.”

He groaned, “you are just a barrel of laughs today. Anyway, so now that you’re nearly asleep over there and I’m freezing and half a wink away from snoring myself, can we just go take a nap somewhere where I’m not folded in half and I can have at least a sheet to use to keep semi-warm?”

“Are you gonna shove your frozen toes under my leg?”

“I highly doubt you’d notice or care.”

Standing, she kept the blanket around her shoulders and held out her hand to him, “get up. If I fall asleep before I get to the bed, you have permission to drag me there.”

Mulder turned her by the shoulders, prodding her down the hall, “not if I fall asleep first. Get going.”

They made it to the bedroom, Scully tossing back the comforter and crawling in, afghan still pulled tightly to her. Mulder stubbed a socked toe on the foot of the bedframe and swearing lightly, he managed to get himself in the other side of the bed before shivering violently as the cold sheets touched exposed skin, “holy hell, you need a heated bed with a remote so I can start the thing up ten minutes before from the living room.”

She heard something about a heater and a remote but too far gone to care, she curled up, dreaming already as Mulder wiggled beside her, working his toes under her still dress-pants clad legs. Since she didn’t flinch or smack him, he relished in her heat and found the pillow with his head, asleep before his feet began to thaw.

&&&&&&&&&&

Mulder was dreaming of a beach and sun and sand and Scully and bathing suits and Scully in a bathing suit on a towel on the sand on a beach in the sun, the warm breeze tossing her red-glinting hair around her face.

It was a nice dream.

Until he woke up, a wad of Scully’s hair stuck to his lips and tongue. Realizing immediately that this was just par for the course given the day Scully seemed to be having and which he was subject to by proxy, he simply reached up and shifted the red curls from his face, moving them back to their owner, who had rolled all the way across the bed, taking sheets and afghan with her in the process.

He’d never slept next to a human egg roll before.

It amused him.

He dug up his phone from his pocket, where it had miraculously remained through his nap, and took several pictures before stretching his finally warmed limbs. He had no idea the time nor did he care but his bladder demanded he get out of bed.

If he could figure out a non-disgusting way to pee from the bed, he’d be doing it right then and there but instead, he dragged himself out into the cold room and headed through the darkness.

Only to once again find the bedframe with his toe.

Stumbling into the bathroom, he took care of business, the only thing making his throbbing foot feel better was the ice cold tile floor. As he made his way back to the bedroom, feet freezing yet again, he saw Scully blinking in his direction, the light he’d turned on in the hallway lest he slam another body part into another piece of hardwood now very bright to her slowly waking eyes.

Mulder managed to get next to her without injury, “hey there. You look like an egg roll.”

Scully only then became aware of her swaddling clothes and gave him a plaintive look, “can you get me out of here, please?”

With a grin, he took the edge of the blankets and shook-rolled her loose, bouncing the bed and calling encouragement every time she flipped over. As soon as she was free, he took off down the hall, feeling her at his heels as he ran, laughing, into the kitchen, running into the kitchen counter and having her run into him.

“Oooph. What’re you doing, crazy lady? I free you and you chase me!”

“You kept saying ‘yah mule’ and ‘come on, git ‘er done’.”

Thinking this over for a moment, “very true. I deserved to be chased.”

“Exactly.”

“Why didn’t you bring the blankets out here with you, though? You’re gonna want them for the rest of the movies.”

“Damn it.” Turning, she headed back to get them while Mulder dug up a bag of pretzels and some peanut butter.

Soon, they were back on the couch, in the middle of Scully’s “Bourne Identity’ pick, which they were ripping to shreds, heckling all the characters in turn, especially the main one, while they ate their way through the bag of pretzels and most of the peanut butter, double dipping to their hearts content.

Once that one finished, they continued to sit well after the credits rolled and the DVD had returned to its menu. Looking from the menu then to Scully wedged in beside him as he sat dead center on the couch, both finally sharing several blankets against the cold of the evening, he looked back at the menu before he groped under their coverings, searching and finding her warm and toasty fingers, previously resting on her thigh and now entwined with his own.

She didn’t pull away but reacted only with the corners of her mouth, which turned upwards ever so slightly.

Mulder felt that smile rather than saw it and it made his toes tingle in amusement.

“Hey Scully?”

“Yes, Mulder?”

“You know I love you, right?”

“Yup.”

“Good.”

A moment or three passed before, “hey, Mulder?”

“Yeah, Scully?”

“You know I love you, too, right?”

“Yup.”

“Good.”

The room remained quiet for another beat then, “hey, Scully?”

“Yes, Mulder?”

“What should be our ‘our’ pick?”

Her smile got wider, “well, since we only seem to agree on Mel Brooks, Sandra Bullock and Kevin Bacon, go pick any of those and I’m good.”

“Why do I have to pick? It’s cold out there.”

Giving his fingers a squeeze, Scully let go and climbed out of their cocoon, “you big baby.”

“Whatever.” Tucking the blankets in closer around his feet, “I’m not freezing this time.”

It also afforded him a look at Scully kneeling on the floor, searching the drawers and showing a little bit of skin and the hint of a tattoo as she leaned over.

Once ‘Speed’ had been put in, playing and she was back under with him, she went in search of his hand, lacing their fingers together and shifting so her head was on his shoulder.

“Cold?”

“Just shut up and hit play.”

Dropping a solitary kiss to the top of her head, “yes, boss.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

This time it was Scully who shut down the DVD player and TV, leaving the pair shrouded in a darkness that wasn’t as dark as normal. Mulder blinked in the direction of the front window, then, incredulously, “it’s orange outside.”

Scully focused her tired eyes, then smiled, “it’s the reflection of the streetlights from the hospital on the snow which then bounced back to the clouds. It happens when we get a lot of snow.”

Yawning, Mulder snuggled down into the cushions, perfectly content to stay there for at least the next week, “I like it. It’s a soothing color. Makes me think of fall leaves and toaster ovens and that one burnt orange sweater that you should wear more often but you don’t because you have this weird worry that it clashes with your hair when really, it makes you look really beautiful.”

Blushing to the roots of said hair, “On that note, I think we ought to get some sleep.”

Realizing he probably sounded more than a little drunk or crazy or both, he nodded, “you have something for me to wear?”

“Probably.” Standing, she pulled him up beside her, “come on, big guy, if anything, you can sleep in one of my nightgowns.”

“Pink or yellow?”

“I’m thinking a nice shade of green.”

“Thank, Scully.”

They were both more awake by the time Mulder veered into the bathroom and Scully changed to her pajamas, straightening all the covers and diving in, shivering at the as usual freezing sheets. Mulder, in the meantime, found his toothbrush in the bathroom, aptly labeled ‘MINE’ with Sharpie on the fat, red handle. Brushing out his peanut buttery, spaghetti sauced teeth, he felt better about his place in the world and headed to the bedroom, careful to avoid any and all toe stubbing incidents. Seeing Scully still squirming around looking for a good spot on the mattress, “where’re my alleged pajamas/night gown?”

“Top, left drawer. I found them on our last case … no, two cases ago … when were we in Jackson Hole, then Billings then back in Jackson Hole?”

“Three cases ago.”

“Three? Really?”

“Yup.” Opening the drawer, he found a subtle pair of blue, yellow and red checked flannel pajama pants that had somehow wound up in her suitcase instead of his, “this last one was in Miami, the one before that was Seattle and the one before that was Jackson Hole.”

“Blech. I think I was blocking out Seattle.”

As he swiftly dropped his dress pants and pulled on the flannels, he undid the last four buttons of his shirt and tossed it to the floor as he dove under the thick down comforter, “we’d all prefer to forget that one, thank you very much.”

“Mulder.”

His voice subdued by the sheer amount of layers atop his head, “what?”

“You forgot the hall light.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Mulder?”

Still buried, “yeah?”

“True love is getting out of bed when you’re already comfortable.”

“Thanks, Scully.”

“Do you see me moving?”

He chortled and punched her lightly in the general area of her thigh, “evil.”

“Whatever.” She slid off the mattress and quickly turned the light out, draping them once again in the orange haze of snowy night, before getting back in bed, “you better not forget this.”

Searching for her fingers and winding hers with his once again, “gnight, Scully.”

“G’night, Mulder.”

&&&&&&&&&

Mulder woke up shivering. It was still dark, it was still quiet and once again, he was freezing. Squinting down at himself, he saw his socks and pajama pants and his shirt and absolutely no covers. Turning, he saw Scully hogging every last inch of comforter, sheet and blanket.

Mumbling, he grabbed a handful of material and pulled towards himself with all the strength he could muster. Proceeding to gain about six inches of real estate, he groaned and poked the only part of Scully he could see, the tip of her nose. When that didn’t work, he poked her three more times until her eyes blinked open, “what?”

“True love means sharing the covers when it’s ten below in the bedroom.”

“What?”

“Would you give me some damn covers before parts of me start to freeze off?”

Scully reluctantly unwrapped herself, shaking the bed as she tried and failed multiple time to free herself. Finally she just sat back on her feet, sighing in Mulder’s direction, “I’m stuck.”

He couldn’t help his grin and waved her towards him, “get over here, Scully.”

It took a minute but finally they were both lying back down, Mulder’s shivers subsiding. Settled on his side and facing his partner, “how’m I gonna keep you from eggrolling again?”

Also on her side, she reached towards him, “true love is making sure to keep my hand held tight so I can’t roll without taking you with me.”

“This is gonna be a thing now, isn’t it?”

“The true love thing?”

“Yup.”

Scully gave him his own smile, albeit a sleepy one, “sure, why not.”

Grabbing tightly onto her hand, he laced his fingers through hers, “gonna make my job even harder.”

“Which job is that?”

“Convincing myself and everybody else we know, including you, that I don’t really mean it.”

Never quite knowing how to reply to his 3am statements like this, she pulled his arm towards her, tucking his hand under her cheek, “g’night, Mulder.”

“G’night.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder stopped to buy toilet paper ... his place this time ...

Next morning, there wasn’t even time to enjoy the warmth of Scully’s down comforter before the phone rang. Mulder shot his hand out into the cold morning air, snatching the phone from the nightstand, “what?”

“Agent Mulder?”

“What?”

Skinner would make him pay for those later but for now, “I called for Agent Scully.”

Hearing her gentle snores beside him, he dropped his face into the pillow, muffling his next words to his boss, “picked up the wrong phone. Do you need us?”

“Yes. Be down here in the next hour. Should I call your phone to get Agent Scully then?”

Not thinking or caring really, given he hated his job with every fiber of his being, “I’ll do it. She’s asleep and if you wake her up, I guarantee you she’ll be way the hell more cranky that I am.” With that, he hung up.

Tossing the phone over his shoulder onto the end of the bed, he poked Scully in the arm with his finger, “wake up.”

“Shut up.”

“Good morning to you, too.”

Scully turned her head in his direction, her tousled red hair half covering her face, several hairs drifting upwards as she spoke, “we just got home, Mulder. Is he serious about going out again?”

Shutting his eyes, “like the Skinman would have a sense of humor.”

After growling in his general direction, “rock, paper, scissors you for the first shower?”

“True love means letting someone else have all the hot water.”

“True love means telling the boss we quit.”

“1, 2, 3 …” Both shot out their hands, Scully choosing Paper while Mulder chose Rock. With a triumphant ‘ha’, Scully moved to slide out from under the covers but Mulder caught her wrist. “We can always just call and tell him you’ve got the flu and I have to hold your hair and make you soup and crap like that.”

Smiling lightly at him, “true love means knowing that if we choose the same thing in Rock, Paper, Scissors, we have to share the shower.” After sliding out of bed, she adjusted her shirt so it wasn’t so twisted around her body. Blowing out a large sigh to move the hair falling in her face, she regarded Mulder, still in bed, “I’ll be quick.”

“Take you time. True love means needing a cold shower every now and again.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Five days later, they were stopping at the grocery store for toilet paper at Mulder’s insistence, “it’s definitely my turn to play host and I’m going to run out of McDonald’s napkins pretty quick with two of us there.”

Scully could only shake her head as she also grabbed ice cream, strawberries and oranges while Mulder picked up the toilet paper, some milk and several DVDs from the $5 bin. Scully tried to see what he had but he skirted away from her, “tonight is grab bag movie night. No picking, just blind grab and play.”

“Then I’m getting cheesy poofs and you can’t stop me.”

Mulder grinned at her, “like I’m gonna stop a woman from eating her cheesy poofs.”

By the time they made it back to the car, it was dark, cold and windy. Mulder nearly lost his bags while attempting to keep Scully from losing hers, both eventually making it to Mulder’s and having to do the wind fighting thing all over again.

“Scully, I suggest you go look in the mirror?”

“Why?”

Waving his hand around the vicinity of her head, “it’s all askew, for lack of a better word.”

“You aren’t exactly put together to perfection either, partner.”

Mulder kicked his bags into the bedroom, then carried the food to the kitchen, “very true. We can be a mess together.”

Leaning into the room, “ice cream for dinner, yes?”

“Why else would I have gotten two gallons?” Giving her an amused look, he angled his head behind her, “go get some pajamas on. Meet you on the couch in five.” He watched her grin, then disappear as he shook his head and pulled out some bowls and the ice cream scooper.

&&&&&&&&&&

“You realize we just sat through ‘Sharknado’, yes?”

Mulder, his feet propped on the coffee table, his hands wrapped around Scully’s ankles that were settled across his lap, “and I’m pretty sure there are several sequels that if we don’t watch, the world will be just a little bit more horrible.”

“Is it safe to assume the sequels are not in the bag?”

“Nope.” Shutting his eyes, he leaned his head back on the couch, “but I’ll know for next time.”

They’d had such a late start to the night that it was nearly midnight and looking over at Mulder’s relaxed face, “how about we end grab bag night early? You’re already half asleep and since the cheesy poofs are still sealed, I can handle not having any until tomorrow.”

His lips curled up, “true love means carrying your sleeping partner to bed so he doesn’t have to wake up.”

Scully stood immediately, pulling his arm over her shoulder, “heave!”

His laughter rang in her ears, “don’t kill yourself, I’m getting up. I’m getting up!”

She smiled as well, then, “true love means trying to carry your sleeping partner to bed so he doesn’t have to wake up even though it may give her a hernia.”

Both made it to the bed relatively unscathed, Scully sliding under the thick comforter before Mulder had a chance to get any further than the doorway. “I win!”

Looking at her in surprise, “I didn’t know it was a race.”

“It’s always a race when I’m pretty sure I can win.”

Pointing an accusing finger in her direction, “next time, you’ll be eating my dust.”

“It won’t be a race then.” Snuggling down, “hurry up in the bathroom. These sheets are freezing. I need you’re overly warm feet in here pronto.”

“Pronto?” Mulder chuckled as he hurriedly brushed his teeth. Diving in next to Scully, his flying leap moving the bed across the floor by several inches, “was that pronto enough for you?”

“Your neighbors downstairs are gonna wonder what the hell just happened.”

“Nope. One’s deaf as a post and the other smokes weed.”

Scully opened an eye in his direction, the other buried deep in her pillow, “weed? I take it they don’t know you’re FBI?”

“They know. See them all the time in the lobby. They are the best three floor conversationalists I’ve met in a long time.”

“Third floor.”

“No. Three floor. I ride the elevator with them until we hit the third floor and if I’m not at least grinning by the time they get off, they offer me a joint.”

By now, Scully was grinning herself, “do you take them?”

“Of course. It’d be rude not to.” Pointing a finger towards his dresser, “got them in a Tupperware container in my top drawer, should the mood ever strike.”

Now she just laughed, “I could learn to love it here.”

“What? No lecture on the perils of drugs?”

“Too late for that.” Tugging his hand towards her, his arm gave way and he landed on the pillow, “now go to sleep. You’ll tell me about the weed twins tomorrow.”

Arranging the covers over both of them, he told her good night, then turned his face away from her, scrunching the pillow under his head and wiggling until he found a comfortable position. Scully watched the ritual, then, once he’d settled, reached out, running her fingers through his hair, scratching her nails lightly over his scalp, “g’night.”

With a smile on his lips, he fell asleep.

&&&&&&&&&

Her dreams were filled with driving snow and cold and howling wind, her legs stuck in a frozen river, Mulder just out of reach offering her ice cream and slowly turning an ugly shade of shivering blue. She woke up with a start to discover she was still cold. More than half-asleep still, she reached out, knocking Mulder on the chest, “Mulder?”

Grumble, mumble, rumble.

“Mulder?”

“Wha-?”

“I’m cold.”

“Okay.”

Putting her hand outside the covers, she felt the icy air which had been filled with warm heat only hours earlier, “something’s wrong.”

Mulder finally lifted his head, “you hear something?”

“No. It’s freezing in here.”

“Go back to sleep. You’re just dreaming.”

Taking her freezing hand and shoving it under his shirt, “that a dream?”

He pulled away from her, “holy shit. Why are you so cold?”

“Exactly.” Gathering her courage, she slid out of the bed, taking the comforter with her, wrapping it tightly around her shoulders, “where do you keep your furnace?”

Mulder came up next to her, rubbing his arms, hopping from one foot to the other as he made his way towards her across the cold floor, “I have no idea. I don’t think I have one.” Scrubbing his cold cheeks, “maybe in the basement.”

The quilt wasn’t helping her any, given she wasn’t generating any of her own heat, “well, can you call the landlord or something?”

Still attempting to wake up more, “yeah. I’ve got the number around here somewhere.”

While he called, Scully looked in every closet, behind every door, then met Mulder in the living room, shaking her head, “all I found was the thermostat.”

“The super mumbled something about taking a hot shower to warm up and he’d look at it in the morning.”

“What a lovely man.”

About to berate the man into oblivion, Mulder had the moment of dawning at the same time as Scully and both shot a hand into the space between them, calling dibs on the first shower.

They both chose paper.

They both knew what that meant.

Mulder suddenly felt a little warmer and somehow couldn’t look Scully in the eye, “I meant rock. I just did it wrong.”

“Go take a shower. I’ll make some hot chocolate or something.”

He’d never seen her so calm in the face of imminent shower-wet nudity, “um, you go. You’re colder than I am.”

“Mulder.”

“True love means making the hot chocolate,” he had to get her a few more feet away from him and he nudged her towards the bathroom, “while your frozen Scully thaws out.”

Slowly stepping back away from him, her cheeks red with more than just the cold, “ten minutes. Then it’s your turn.”

With a nod, he headed to the kitchen, gathering his scattered, humming thoughts while microwaving hot water. Once the drinks were made, he carried the mugs to the bathroom, knocking lightly, then opening the door while holding two mugs in the other, “hey, you want yours in there?”

“Sure. Come on in. You can pre-warm in the steam.”

Taking a deep breath of the still frigid air, he stepping into the bathroom, shutting the door with his hip. “Good lord, Scully. I can’t see anything through the tropical mist you’ve got going on in here.”

“You can always go back outside and leave me to my tropical misting.”

“No way in hell. I’m thawing already.” He couldn’t see her through the shower curtain and glad for that little gift, he settled on the toilet seat, “so, once we warm up, do you want to stay here or head to your place?”

Amidst the splashing, she found the time to answer, “I say we try here. It’s 4am and I don’t want to have to go out.”

“Laziness wins, thank God. I took the liberty of throwing a few more blankets on the bed. Should keep us above freezing until morning.” Taking a good gulp of his drink, “you know, this steam is about as good as taking the shower itself. I might not need the hot water after all.”

“Mulder.”

“Yeah, my pruning partner.”

“True love means carrying out a previous true love statement.”

He nearly choked on his own tongue, “what?”

Scully’s hand came out the side of the shower, “you can come in if you want to.”

His ears buzzed loudly, drowning out coherent thoughts as he stuttered another, “what?”

She had to laugh as she turned off the water and pulled her hand in one side of the shower and popped it out the other, grabbing the towel hanging there, “you had your chance. True love means moving faster when opportunity knocks.” Mulder could do nothing but lean back on the toilet, sipping his hot chocolate while shaking his head slowly, stupid grin wide on his face. Scully slid back the curtain a few moments later, towel wrapped tightly, wet hair stuck to her shoulders. Taking in his head shakes, she grinned back, “all yours.”

Giving her a quick once-over, “so I’ve gathered.” He motioned her to turn around so he could strip, “you gonna hang out while I shower?”

Scully settled carefully where Mulder had just been, “I’m just gonna sit here and drink with my eyes shut. Too cold to go out there yet.”

Good to her word, she scrunched her eyes up tight, waiting until she got the okay to open them again. “I’m beginning to think that it’s just gonna be colder when we get out of the bathroom because we’re wet. We may have to stay in here permanently.”

A spluttery reply drifted through the shower curtain, “we’ll never be dirty, at least.”

They kept up the light exchange until Scully’s hot chocolate was gone and she was dressed and ready to make the running leap from the bathroom to   
the bed. Bracing herself, she told Mulder, who’d just shut off the water, “I’m going out. Wish me luck.”

The wall of cold air she’d let in made Mulder’s insides quake. He turned the hot water back on for another minute to combat it, then dried and dressed in record time. In another fantastical feat of launching and landing, Mulder’s bed slid the three inches back to where it had been before they got home. Scully had held back the covers for him and while still bouncing on the mattress, she threw them back over both, “your neighbors probably think we’re having some very violent sex.”

“Not my problem.” His teeth chattering, he covered both their heads, leaving a triangle open for fresh air, “why isn’t this bed warm already, woman? I gave you plenty of time.”

After lightly punching him in the chest, she grinned, “I was fine until I had to let you in. You bought the cold in with you.”

“Whatever. True love is holding the sheets up while the other gets in bed.”

They fell asleep at some point, not sure when or who was first but the next think Mulder remembered he felt extremely warm and cozy. Now, being Mulder, cozy was not a word he bandied about but there was no other way to explain it.

He was cozy.

He liked it.

Except for the ever present mouthful of red hair. He could live without that but if that was the price to pay for cozy, he was okay with it.

He was also enjoying his hand on her butt.

Scully was stretched along his length, face buried in his chest and hand wrapped in his t-shirt.

And his hand was on her butt.

The 1000-watt smile this caused could have probably been seen from the moon had anyone been there to look for it.

His secret statement he’d never get to tell Scully out loud was that true love meant sleeping with your hand on your partner’s ass.

Seeing no need to get up, he fell back to sleep, smile still spread across his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did they really have to end the case with a dead kid, a burned out house, a bullet wound and a desperately long de-briefing?

Did they really have to end the case with a dead kid, a burned out house, a bullet wound and a desperately long de-briefing?

By the time they stumbled up to Scully’s door at half past three in the morning, they hadn't slept in three days and Mulder was so stressed and tense, he threw their bags to the ground and slammed the door shut hard enough to knock the mirror hanging beside it to the floor. The resounding smash left mirror shards strewn from the front door through to the kitchen. Scully would have yelled at him if she hadn’t been wincing at the pain in her upper arm from the through and through gunshot and if she had the energy to care.

She did not.

She was about to ask him quietly to please clean it up but he was already headed down the hall, grabbing the broom from the linen closet and passing her on the way back, mumbling ‘sorry’ as he did so. She couldn’t find the energy to do more than stand there, so tired she didn’t have any idea what to do with herself but watch him.

Once he finished that, he replaced the broom and stopped beside her, “hey.”

Scully didn’t even know where to look for a reply so she stayed silent, her exhausted eyes unable to keep focus for more than a few seconds at a time.

Mulder saw this and realized his issues needed to take a backseat for a little while, “come on.” Taking the hand not attached to the bandaged arm, “you’re gonna fall asleep standing here if we don’t move.” She let him turn her around and guide her to the bedroom, turning her again to sit her on the bed, “I’m gonna start with your shoes and work my way up. Do you want to go wash up or just go to sleep?” She shrugged indifferently, then nearly passed out from the pain shooting up and down her arm, turning a shade of gray no mortal should ever be. Mulder saw this and went a little grey himself, “okay, new plan. No choosing, just sleeping after more drugs. Stand up so I can get your pants off.”

Any other time in the known universe, she’d have volleyed that back to him with an equally inuendo-filled statement but instead she just shook her head, “I need to lay down … right now.”

Not about to deny her, he first made her swallow another Vicodin, then he helped where he could and got her lying down, proceeding to then remove her shoes and somewhat awkwardly, her blood-dried, tattered jeans. Deciding to ignore her shirt or pajamas, he got her legs under the covers then propped her bad arm up on several pillows. Satisfied she would be uncomfortable but able to get some sleep, he kissed her forehead, “I’ll be back in a little while. I need to go take a shower.”

“Don’t leave.”

“Don’t leave the bedroom or don’t leave the apartment?”

“Apartment.”

Mulder gave her a smile, “I won’t go further than the bathroom and possibly the kitchen for some food but other than that, I’ll be around.”  
Slipping into sleep already, she mumbled up at his blurry face, “thank you.”

“True love means taking your partner’s pants off while handing her Vidodin.”

All he got back was a slight snore.

Once he’d taken his shower and eaten a sandwich and beat the stuffing out of one of Scully’s throw pillows to release some of the pent-up anger about the case, he stood against the doorjamb to her bedroom, letting the sight of her calm him the rest of the way down, allowing him to climb carefully into the bed a minute later with a quiet mind.

&&&&&&&&&

It was a rough night, Scully whimpering her way through it, restless and emotional, crying several times with Mulder there each time to wipe the tears away, doing his best not to wake her. The last time he touched her face, however, she opened her eyes, blinking at him as he continued to gently swipe her cheeks dry.

“You okay?”

“If we had just been two minutes earlier, Mulder. Two minutes.”

“I know.”

Moving her arm as carefully as possible, she shifted to her side to face him, groaning quietly. Settling back into her pillow, she whispered in his direction, “two fucking minutes.”

Mulder reached across the mattress, twining his fingers with those of her good hand, pinching her thumb lightly, “I took out my anger on your striped pillow in the living room. It has some stuffing issues now.” She didn’t smile but no more tears squeezed out either so he considered it a victory on his part. “Do you want some food or something to drink?”

“I could really go for an ice pack. My arm feels like it’s on fire.”

Getting up immediately, “back in a minute.” True to his word, he was climbing back on the bed two minutes later, bag of ice in hand and scooting up next to her, he sat crossed-legged as he held the ice to her arm, “this okay?”

It hurt but she could live with the pain, especially with the ice dulling the ache after a time, “thank you.”

“You didn’t hear my statement earlier. I said, ‘true love means taking your partner’s pants off while handing her Vicodin’. My newest statement now is ‘true love means holding ice packs on bullet holes without expecting thank yous.”

The statement took a second but her eyebrows went up, “I’m not wearing any pants?”  
“Nope.”  
Shutting her eyes again, “if only you had figured out a way to get me out of this bra, too.”

“The sweet things you say to me, Scully, are one day going to kill me.” Giving her a sympathetic smile, “I can help you now though, if you want to try. At least you’ll be awake for this one.”

Nodding, she held her good hand up for assistance, “let’s do this thing.”

It took some struggling and several hissing swears under her breath but Mulder, thinking about baseball and zombie movies, managed to get her shirt off, then carefully peeled the bra away from her skin, looking anywhere but at her. Digging up a button down from her closet, he got her in that but continued to avoid eye contact.

Scully, once she was re-buttoned, kept her eyes on Mulder, who studied the ceiling with such intense concentration that she had to smile. Finally, she cleared her throat to remind him she was still here, “doing okay with the not paying attention?”

“Shush it. Still fighting zombies in my head.”

“True love means ignoring the zombies long enough to get your partner back in bed.”

Mulder returned her smile, “feel like your arm is about to explode?”

“As long as I don’t actually move, I feel okay. Once I move, want to cut off said appendage at the shoulder.”

Knowing exactly how she felt, he helped her lay back down, “go back to sleep. I’ll hold the ice for you.”

“Aren’t you still tired?”

“I’ll be tired later when the ice is melted and you’re sleeping soundly.”

“I’d kiss you if I could reach you.”

Bringing his cheek down to her lips, “I’ll just come to you.”

“True love means having to collect kisses sometimes.”

“I totally agree.”

&&&&&&&&&&

Mulder got another round of drugs in her around 8am, then both slept soundly until later that evening, Mulder only waking when the doorbell rang. “Scully?”

“Hmmm.”

“The doorbell’s ringing. Do we care?”

“No.”

“Good.”

He was nearly back to sleep eight seconds later when he heard the front door open. Springing out of bed, he had gun in hand as he tore into the hallway, leaving Scully in a heap on the floor, having pushed her off the bed as he clambered over the top of her. She quietly cried as her stitches tore out and the blood soaked through the bandage immediately.

Mulder had no idea she had fallen from the bed but at that point, all he knew was that whoever the hell just came in the door probably shouldn’t be coming through the door so he was bound and determined to send them back out the door with either his foot, his fist or his gun, whichever best fit the situation.

He skidded to a stop, stumbling into the table as he realized the large, burly intruder he was expecting was actually Maggie Scully, looking appropriately terrified to see Mulder barreling towards her, bare-chested, sweatpants-clad and giant gun in hand. Maggie dropped the mail she carried and the grocery bag under her arm as she stepped sideways to hover behind the protection of the couch.

“Fox?”

“Maggie?”

Still confused, “what are you doing here?”

Tabling his gun, he scrubbed his face with his now empty hands, “still sleeping, I think. What are you doing here?”

“Getting Dana’s mail and dropping off some food I picked up for her.”

About to respond, he suddenly remembered he’d leapt over a lump in the bed. Turning, he ran back down the hall, dropping beside Scully where she sat, back against the bedframe, “oh my God, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about you. I heard the door open and went on automatic pilot. I’m sorry!” Touching the rivulet of blood now traveling towards her wrist, “did the stitches pull out?”

“Either that or I got shot again and haven’t realized it yet.” Swiping at her cheeks, Scully looked over Mulder’s shoulder, “hi, Mom.”

Maggie was now hovering over both, “what happened?”

Scully gave her an abbreviated explanation of the case, ending with, “and now Mulder gets to take me back to the hospital to get more stitches.”

“I can take you if you’d rather.”

“No, Mom. I know it’s card night and I don’t want you to miss it. We might be awhile.”

Nodding, “if you’re sure? Although, I would recommend putting some pants on.” Eyeing her daughter’s bare legs, “I’d ask but something tells me it’s better staying in the dark.”

Scully looked at her knees and the shirt barely covering her to mid-thigh, “it’s been a hellish week, Mom and Mulder had to get my pants off with me already asleep.” Realizing nothing would help her explain things, especially with her mother smiling agreeably down at her, “I will put pants on.”

Leaning over, Maggie dropped a kiss on her daughter’s head, “call me tomorrow, please.”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you, too, honey.” Looking up at Mulder next, “you keep protecting Dana like you did earlier, understand?”

“You didn’t mind me running at you with a gun?”

“At first it was quite a shock but thinking about it now, you can greet me like that anytime.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

They sat in the ER, Scully in pajama pants and sneakers, Mulder in blood-splattered jeans and a battered Roswell sweatshirt that had seen better decades but was always present in the trunk of his car. Having to sit through several larger emergencies before being seen, they made it back home around 9 that night, Scully tired again and Mulder extra cranky from hunger and the world in general. Dropping the bags of takeout on the table, “if I don’t eat now, I’m going to beat the hell out of another throw pillow.”

“God forbid a pillow die for your hunger.”

“Damn right.” He held himself in check long enough to ask if she needed anything and when she shook her head, he began eating right out of the carton of Almond Chicken, fingers substituting chopsticks. Scully at least fixed a plate and settled on the couch, plate stacked on pillow with Mulder’s help. After jamming several large pieces of chicken in his mouth, he sighed, “that tastes just like heaven right now.”

“You’re an atheist, Mulder.”

“So heaven gets to taste like whatever I want it to.”

“But you don’t believe in heaven.”

“True love is letting a man eat his heavenly chicken in peace.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

Scully was back in bed by 12:30 that night, having made it through ‘Sharknado 2’ but not ‘Ghostbusters’, which, he mumbled to her as he guided her down the hall and into the bedroom, was a cardinal sin worthy of wet-noodle beatings.

As she settled her head on the pillow, she opened one eye in his direction, “dogs and cats living together … mass hysteria.”

“Nice. You can quote it so I won’t go boil any noodles.”

“Thanks.”

“G’night, Scully.”

“Stay in here. Don’t go back to the living room.”

About to do just that, he stopped, sitting on the edge of the mattress, “why?”

“I like you in here and the Vicodin makes me dizzy and you keep me from falling off the world.”

He sure as hell couldn’t argue that. Giving her a smile, he stood and walked to the other side of the bed, “I’ll keep you from falling off, I promise.”  
She gave him a sleepy smile as she drifted off.

&&&&&&&&&

Both once again slept an absurdly long time, well into the next evening, and still Mulder only woke up because he felt himself alone.

He found Scully gone from beside him and moving slow, he wandered out to the living room to investigate. It didn’t take much investigating, however, given she was settled on the couch, blowing her nose. Coming up to her, he crouched behind the couch, arms thrown over the back, hands resting lightly on the sides of her neck, “what’s wrong?”

“I can’t get over that two damn minutes, Mulder.” Blowing once again, her voice quavered, “do you know what I can get done in two minutes? I can brush my teeth, I can run up umpteen flights of stairs, I can shower if necessary, I can hold my breath, I can fire and reload I don’t know how many times.” Hanging her head, “yet, I get held up by a fucking table and an overturned chair for two minutes. I should have just shot him through the damn door.”

Pulling her back against the cushions, he slid his arms around her into a hug, keeping near her neck to avoid hitting her stitches. She didn’t fight him, leaning her head back so as he hugged her, her head was right beside his, cheek to cheek. Mulder pulled his head over however, to whisper in her ear, “you were doing in while bleeding all over the place and with a crapload of soot in your eyes.”

“I don’t think Jamie Steffens cares about either of those things.”

“How would you have felt if you’d missed Drummond and hit Jamie?”

“I would have at least known I tried my best.”

Mulder pressed his lips to her cheek, then down to her neck as he lay his head on her shoulder. Leaving them there, his next words vibrated her skin, “you always try your best. I have never doubted that for a second.”

She let several more tears fall before pulling away, twisting enough to give him his own kiss on the forehead, “you are a very nice boy.”

“And you are a very lovely girl.”

“Think I should stop thinking for awhile?”

Mulder couldn’t help his smile, “I definitely think you should stop thinking for awhile. I think you should come watch me attempt to make some kind of dinner for us in the kitchen, then help me eat whatever the hell I end up with. You up for it?”

Wiping her face one last time, she dried her hand on her pajama pants, then stood up, taking a deep breath, pointing into the other room, “I think you’d better start cooking.”

After a dinner of pancakes and hot dogs, they watched back-to-back-to-back-to-back cooking competition shows, which Mulder finally had to turn off when he began getting hungry again. Clicking the TV off and shrouding them in darkness, he stayed quiet until Scully reached over to find his hand with her own, “I can hold your hand for two minutes.”

He squeezed her fingers, wiggling until he had a good grip, palms tightly together, “you can hold my hand for a lot longer than two minutes.”  
Waiting at least five minutes, Scully turned her hand and stood up, keeping him in her grip, “come on, big guy. We need more sleep. Gotta work tomorrow.”

Standing up next to her, he followed her in silence to the bedroom but before she let go to head to the bathroom, he stopped her, pulling her into a careful hug. Once they’d moved through friendly hug to awkward ‘we should probably let go now’ and finally into ‘I just might stay here forever’, Mulder told her quietly, talking into the crown of her head, “I’m never going to hug you for less than two minutes ever again. In all seriousness, it’ll probably be more like five or ten minutes … just saying.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way home from California after Closure ...

He hadn’t really spoken in the car on the way to the airport, leaving that up to Skinner and Scully. Scully wasn’t talking either so the ride had been fairly silent, Skinner simply playing driver while Scully pointed navigation out the window when necessary. After checking in at their gate, they’d made their way to a line of chairs, Scully sitting in the middle seat, flanked by the two taller men, feeling much smaller than normal.

Once settled, she reached over, her hand coming to rest on Mulder’s thigh, hoping the warmth would get him to turn to her, look at her, acknowledge that they still weren’t standing in that field. It took several minutes but he did slip his hand over hers momentarily, brushing his fingers over her knuckles with the lightest of touches. She felt Skinner’s eyes on their hands and dutifully ignored the older man, realizing that right now, she honestly didn’t care.

The flight itself mirrored the waiting area, this time Mulder finding Scully’s hand blindly, while never taking his eyes off the view out the window. She was certain, however, that he wasn’t seeing any of the scenery below, likely lost in his thoughts, thinking and overthinking everything and anything. Heart aching for him, she leaned in on his shoulder, riding out the flight staring at his reflection in the video screen embedded in the back of the seat in front of him.

Skinner, luckily, was two seats behind and across the aisle but that didn’t mean he didn’t see her body shifting in Mulder’s direction. Deciding this wasn’t the time or the place for a public decorum lecture, he settled his head back and attempted to take a nap.

Once in baggage claim, Mulder grabbed both his and Scully’s bags, then waited quietly while Skinner retrieved his from the carousel. Finally in the parking garage, Mulder shut their bags in the trunk of her car, then turned to Skinner, holding out his hand, “thank you for coming with us.”  
Returning with a firm handshake, “You’re welcome. Have a safe trip home.”

“You, too.”

&&&&&&&

Scully navigated them out of the garage, driving the darkened streets on autopilot, one hand on the wheel, the other itching to touch him, to let him know that she was there and she cared. Just as she was about to go fumbling across the console for his hand, he beat her to it and met her in the middle, twining his fingers with hers by the light of the radio dial.

Finally, she broke the silence, “your place or mine? Or would you like to be alone for the night?”

He took a few moments to answer, then slowly shook his head, “I don’t know. Should I be alone so if I go crazy again, you won’t have to clean up all my broken shit or do we go to your place so I can break your stuff or do we go back to my place and I can just listen to that damn message over and over again until you throw the machine out the window?”

His voice cracked high on his last few words and Scully decided for them. Taking the next freeway exit she found, she turned into a fairly nice Marriott hotel. Stopping the car, she moved her hand to cover his mouth before he could ask, “my treat. Give me five minutes and I’ll come get you.”

For the first time in awhile, he nearly cracked a smile, then shrugged, “whatever you say, g-woman.”

Good to her word, she was back in five minutes. Parking the car and coming over to his door, she opened it, then gestured him out, “come on, Mulder. Time for bed.”

Not questioning, he got out, pulled their bags from the trunk and brushed Scully’s helping hand aside, “you gotta at least let me carry the bags.”  
Scully led them to a room on the first floor, opening the door with the key card, then holding it while Mulder walked in. He flipped a switch on with his elbow and let out a chuckle as the room lit up, “seriously? Scully, there is a hot tub in our room.”

“Jacuzzi and I know.” Shoving him lightly into the room and finally shutting and locking the door behind them. “I need that tub as soon as humanly possible.”

It felt good to be amused for a little while, “we didn’t bring suits.”

With a shrug, she headed towards the tub, “I shut my eyes, you get in, you shut your eyes, I get in. Simply math.”

“That’s not math, Scully.”

Cranking the faucet on full, “don’t argue with the scientist, Mulder.”

While Scully was in the bathroom, Mulder took the initiative and stripped, sliding into the hot water, groaning happily as the heat went to work immediately on his tired muscles. Scully walked out a few minutes later and couldn’t help her smile, “I take it you like the Jacuzzi.”

“Get in here, Scully.” Suddenly stopping, Scully realized she would be stripping for Mulder, even if he did have his eyes shut. She turned an immediate shade of bright red, which Mulder responded to with a Boy Scout salute, “I’ll keep my eyes shut tight, I promise.”

“Still.”

Squinching them up, “move it.”

Soon, they were both up to their necks in hot water, the jets soothing away every ache and pain. Sitting across from each other, feet on the opposite seats, just the tops of Mulder’s knees showed while Scully just barely made it across comfortably. After sitting in amicable silence for a little while, Scully felt a hand slip over her ankle. Opening an eye in his direction, “afraid I’m going to fall in?”

“With those little legs, you never know.”

Shutting her eye again, “very true. Keep me from drowning, Mulder, I might be falling asleep soon.”

Mulder dropped his leg, swung her legs over and settled them on his thighs, “for safe keeping.”

“If I slide down, you’re gonna get a foot in parts you don’t want feet.”

“I’ll risk it.”

With a smile, they went back to silence, Mulder’s hand moving from her ankle to massaging the bottom of her feet. After another half-hour, he had moved from foot massage to calf massage when Scully began slowly slipping sideways in the water. Quickly reaching out, he slid his hands along her legs and up her thighs, hands wrapping around her slippery skin to keep her from going too far. Once he’d stabilized her, “Scully? I think it’s time for bed. Wake up so you can get out, okay?”

Never acknowledging his words, she simply stood up, Mulder closing his eyes as fast as possible but still catching a glimpse of wet flesh and grinning like an idiot. Once he heard the bathroom door close, he opened his eyes again, amused by the trail of water she’d left across the carpet. Standing himself, he started the tub draining, then realized just how much he needed sleep. Toweling off quickly, he dragged his pajama pants from his suitcase, pulled them up his hips and crashed into the bed.

He felt Scully hit the mattress a few minutes later. Looking in her direction, he saw her hair plastered to her forehead and her eyes staring at him, unfocused, “did I almost drown?”

“I never would have let that happen.”

“True love means not letting your partner die a watery death.”

“True love means loving your partner even though he may have caught of glimpse of you getting out of the hot tub.”

Smiling into the pillow, her eyes drifted closed, “I love you, too.”

He settled in, ready to get some honest-to-God sleep when he felt a hand slide through his hair, fingernails scratching his scalp lightly.  
He never felt her remove her hand.

&&&&&&&&&

Scully woke up when she heard the door to the room shut and the lock click. Lifting her head, she saw Mulder’s shadow heading towards the bed, “what’s wrong?”

Pulling his t-shirt off and tossing something across the room, he crawled back under the covers, “nothing. Go back to sleep.”

“What time is it? We have to checkout by 11?”

Running a hand over her back, “it’s 11:17.”

“What?!”

“Hey, I just went and paid for another day. Go back to sleep.”

Scully dropped her head back to her pillow, “I shouldn’t be this tired still.”

Regarding her still open eyes, “it’s been a stressful week.”

Without worrying, she reached her hand across the void between them, tracing her finger across his eyebrows, then down his nose and around his cheeks, making the circuit several times, “how are you?” Coming out of left field and catching them both by surprise, his face crumbled, tears pooling then dropping to the pillow. Before she could react, he rolled away from her, the advantage of the king size bed they had letting him do this without falling out to the floor.

It only took a moment before he felt a hesitant hand settle on his arm, then slide slowly down his chest. Next came the warmth of her small body pressed into his back, her voice quiet over his shoulder, “I’m gonna hug you for longer than five minutes, okay? Don’t try to escape ‘cause I’ll follow you.”

Pulling her hand up to his lips, he kissed each knuckle in turn, then settled it back on his upper chest, “I’m not going anywhere.”

With a tight squeeze, she wiggled a little and once comfortable, “g’night, Mulder.”

“I love you, too, Scully.”

&&&&&&&&&&

By six that night, they were surrounded by pizza, breadsticks, salad, ice tea and the remote control, fully prepared for an on-demand movie marathon to rival all on-demand movie marathons. His mouth full of gooey cheese and mushrooms, he gave Scully a grin, “I wish I’d had a camera for when the concierge saw the pizza man coming in. I bet we’re the first delivery they’ve ever had.”

“Well, for what we’re paying for this room, room service should have been included.”

“Totally agree but then again, there’s a Jacuzzi four feet from the bed. We really can’t complain.”

“We should take another swim after dinner.”

His grin was well worth it, “I’ve never watched a movie from a hot tub.”

“You ever eaten dinner in one?”

Both were scrambling off the bed immediately and ten minutes later, they were in the water, food, drinks and remote within easy reach. Settled on the same side this time, they ate, drank and watched in comfort, completely ignoring the total nakedness three inches to Scully’s right and to Mulder’s left.

Mostly.

The water had cooled by the end of the first movie and Scully sat up, looking over at Mulder, “I know this is weird because we’ve been sitting in a bathtub for two hours but I need a shower.”

“I will shut my eyes and then clean up while you’re in there.”

“Thanks.”

&&&&&&&&&

Coming out of the bathroom in her pajamas, she stopped short. The room looked like the maid had been in. Bed made, food gone, tub empty, clothes folded, Mulder sitting precariously on the edge of one of the chairs, “I’m still not sure why I made the bed.”

She gave him a laugh, then walked over towards him, toweling her hair. Stopping in front of him, “you did good. Do you need the shower?”

“Probably.”

“Okay. Go take one then get back out here. We have at least three more movies to get through and ice cream to go get from the machine down the hall.”

He moved fast and was soon back beside her on the bed, lying on his stomach, feet on the pillow beside Scully, engrossed in some sci-fi flick he’d picked to balance out the rom-com she’d chosen while they were in the Jacuzzi. Scully didn’t even care about the plot, perfectly content to sit there and enjoy doing absolutely nothing with her best friend.

Mulder looked over his shoulder at her about halfway through, “you still awake back there?”

“Sure. I don’t fall asleep until the middle of the cliffhanger ending. You know that.”

“Get down here and keep me company then. I can hold your hand during the scary parts.”

“I work the X-Files, I highly doubt any movie will scare me that much,” but she turned and crawled down beside him, pillow wedged under her chin. Holding her hand over to him, “here you go, Mulder. Hold it.”

“But it’s not the scary part yet.”

“Better to be prepared.”

Smiling into his own pillow while not taking his eyes from the screen, he reached over and took it in his, squeezing her fingers lightly, “Boy Scout motto.”

&&&&&&&&&&

True to form, she fell asleep before the end of the third movie, despite having slept a good portion of the day. Turning the TV off, he plunged the room into darkness, the only light being from the streetlight peeking around the closed curtains. Carefully turning on his side, he kept ahold of her while, with his other hand, he traced the same patterns on her face as she’d done earlier on his. She woke up some, mumbling quietly, “Mulder?”

“Right here.”

With the sleepiest smile he’d ever seen, “this is our place.”

“Our place?”

“Mmm-mmmh. It’s not yours and it’s not mine. It’s ours.”

“That’s true. Although I don’t know if we can afford to do this very often.”

Snuggling deeper into the pillow, “but tonight is nice.”

After slipping from her hand and then off the bed, he pulled back the covers, then, lifting her carefully, he turned a 180 and set her back down properly. Getting in next to her and covering them both, he found her hand again, “tonight is very nice.”

&&&&&&&&&

Her nightmare came out of nowhere. In her dream, she’d been in her apartment doing nothing important then suddenly, Mulder was there, glowing blue like he’d described his sister doing when he’d hugged her. That was all but it was enough and she woke up, breathing hard, clutching whatever had been within reach, which happened to be Mulder’s arm. He was trying to wake her up while also attempting to pry her grip from his flesh, into which she had dug her fingernails quite deep. Finally, after reassuring her several times she was okay and he was okay and she should stop screaming his name, he freed himself and she calmed enough to quiet down.

Finally focusing on his face, she saw how scared he was, “are you okay?”

“Am I okay? You’re the one screaming loud enough to wake the dead.”

He said it with a tenderness though that warmed her heart and she collapsed forward onto his shoulder, “I’m sorry. It was a dream about you.”

“What happened to me?”

“I don’t know. You just showed up in my apartment glowing blue like you described Samamtha to me and …” she then stopped, realizing she actually hadn’t meant to tell him. Staying still, she waited for another moment, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why not?”

“Because … because it’s too close and you’ve had no time to deal with it and I don’t …” she stopped when his hand went comfortably around the back of her neck, holding her to him.

“You had a nightmare and I want you to always tell me about them, regardless of what’s in them.”

Sniffing, she lifted her head back up, his hand staying on her neck, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s nothing. It’ll be fun explaining the bruising to the guys when I see them.”

She finally noticed the tears dried on his cheeks, “were you crying before I woke up?”

Shrugging, “I didn’t have the best dream either.”

Her own eyes filled up again, “was it about Samantha?”

After he nodded, he pulled her back down, spooning up behind her, “this time.”

“What are they usually about then?”

Burying his nose in her neck, his muffled reply of ‘you’ ruffled her hair and left her speechless.

&&&&&&&&&&&&


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touch does matter ...

Scully looked up when Chief came into the room, rubbing his face and yawning. Stopping when he saw the pair of them, “go home. I sent everybody else who’s been here for more than two days home and since you’ve been here,” checking his watch, “nearly four, get out and take a nap.” Mulder started his protesting immediately but the older man cut him off, “you’re no good to me if you can’t think.”

Mulder shut his open mouth, looking at Scully as she nodded her head towards the door. Realizing the Chief probably had a point given he was having trouble remembering the Chief’s name, Mulder stacked his piles of paper and headed in his partner’s direction, grabbing his forgotten suit jacket as he passed. Scully turned, moving out the door after saying good-night to Chief Thompson.

The ride back to the motel was silent, neither hungry enough to find food at the late hour and not caring much about it anyways. Parting at Scully’s door, he tilted his head in the direction of her room, “get some sleep. I’ll wake you up at six.”

With a quiet, “okay”, she disappeared into her room, not waiting for Mulder to get through his own door down the walkway. Showering in record time, Scully was soon lying on the fairly uncomfortable bed, staring at the ceiling, her brain working through the case frontways, backways, sideways, all ways possible and making her head ache more in the process.

She also began to feel a dull panic. The victim, Ivan, had been isolated in a small storage container out in the middle of the woods far from anyone who would ever be able to hear his scream. The only human contact he’d had in his three years of captivity had been with his captor who came by once a week to leave barely enough food to keep him alive until the next delivery. That contact had been through a small sliding door at the base of the container.

He hadn’t felt the touch of another human in three years.

Mulder hadn’t touched her since they’d arrived in Cartisian, Colorado and went directly from the airport to the police station. He had held the door for her and settled his hand on her back as she’d walked past him and he’d followed and that had been the end.

Granted, they’d been at the station or out in the field for four days, separate some of the time, surrounded by other law enforcement most of the time, submerged deeply in the search for what Ivan had informed them were six other possible people trapped in the same circumstances as he had been. How this man had been able to give a coherent statement after managing to escape his holdings and crawl through the forest for two days only to be found on complete accident by a wandering hunter was still astounding to her.

Ivan’s abductor had once, quite awhile back and probably in a fit of complete insanity, divulged to him, while giggling and throwing granola bars through the food opening, that he wouldn’t be getting the good food today because number seven had done something for him and earned the bag of apples.

Now they were attempting to find those other alleged six people with their only clues being the rusting storage container and the ability of Ivan to possibly identify the voice if and when they ever managed to produce a suspect. Mulder had buried himself in the case immediately and completely, using his myopic focus to narrow on a profile, proceeding to forget any and all around him.

Scully was fine with this. It was how he worked best. It was how victims were found before she had to unpack her autopsy kit and not after. It made her proud that he could catch unmentionable horrors where no one else could.

But there was a price.

There was always a price.

This time, she wondered if he identified so completely that maybe he was becoming the victim, putting himself in their shoes and forgetting that he was still living in the real world.

A small voice in the back of her mind kept attempting to replace her wild thoughts with reality, telling her she needed to stop thinking and go to sleep, that Mulder was fine, that he was just as tired as her and didn’t need to have a hand on her in order to be anchored to the here and now.  
That small voice got thoroughly squashed.

About to get up, to go make sure Mulder was indeed still Mulder, she threw back the covers and jumped when there was the sound of a keycard being swiped, then her door unlocking. Noticing only then that she hadn’t set the deadbolt, she gave the entering party the benefit of the doubt, 99% positive it was Mulder.

It was and she took a deep breath, unwrapping her hand from around her gun, which had been sitting quietly on the nightstand beside her. Mulder looked from her to the gun, both of which were illuminated by the neon sign hovering over the entrance to the parking lot advertising the motel. “This is why I hate non-adjoining rooms.”

“You’d rather sneak in here undetected than give me any kind of warning?”

Mulder, looking exhausted and scared at the same time, shrugged, “probably.”

Scully stood, settling her gun back in the holster before coming over to stand before him, “what’s wrong?”

Feeling like an idiot now that he was actually doing what he’d been focused on since he’d left her at her door, “it’s stupid.”

“Possibly. Give it a whirl though and let me decide.”

Very happy that the room was now nearly dark, the only light coming from the bathroom where Scully always plugged in her dim blue nightlight she never left home without. He reached out tentatively into the darkness, his fingers settling lightly on her cheek. Hearing his sigh, she waited until he palmed her cheek a moment later, “I was worried I was buried too deep in this, that I had forgotten how to touch you.”

Scully drew in her own breath, whispering in his direction, “I was worried about that, too. I was about to come find you.”

His hand slid around the back of her neck, pulling her against his chest, “great and terrible minds think alike.”

Leaning against him, relishing the heat through his t-shirt, “I know we’re on a case but I’m perfectly fine not telling anyone if you slept in here tonight.”

Ruefully chuckling into her hair, “I wasn’t planning on leaving anyways.” They were under the covers a minute later, Scully tucked up against his side until he reached over and pulled her arm across his chest, “I need you here if you don’t mind.”

She understood completely, craving his warmth while he craved her touch. Settled in, both waited for a sleep that still eluded. Without realizing it, Scully had begun kneading the hem of his shirt, the material bunching in her clench then releasing, only to be gripped again a moment later. His long sleeves didn’t allow her to feel his skin, the course hair of his arm, the rounded point of his elbow.

“What’s wrong, Scully?”

Not holding back, “it’s not enough. I don’t know what’s not enough but it’s not enough.” She was so tired at this point that she couldn’t put her thoughts together in any coherent fashion. Continuing to try, she simply babbled, repeating, “it’s not enough.”

Mulder, wondering if he maybe figured out what she needed because he felt it to some extent as well, nudged her off him, “one second.” He pulled off his shirt, then returned to his spot, pulling Scully against his skin, resting her hand on his chest, “is this better? Was the shirt bothering you?”

Burying her nose against him, she splayed her fingers, walking them over his ribs and up his sternum, finally down his arm, across his hand and returning to his ribs, her hand cupping his side. He smelled like a freshly washed Mulder, warm and comforting and above all else, alive, “human touch calms nerves faster than anything else.”

His heart, which had been galloping out of control for the last two days, slowed to a level that didn’t make the veins in his forehead pulse. Shifting slightly, he began absently rubbing her back slowly, at first over her shirt, then, as it pulled up, he began running his hand up and down her bare spine, needing the contact as much as Scully did.

Just as he was wondering if she was asleep, Scully moved her hand, then pushing up from his chest, sat back on her knees beside him, “shut your eyes.”

“What?”

“Just close your eyes.”

“It’s already dark. I can’t see anything.”

“Please, Mulder, just shut your eyes.” Doing so, he waited quietly until he heard a rustle of fabric, then Scully moving again to lay beside him. What touched him next was not her soft, flannel pajama top but warm flesh, bare breasts, flat stomach, uncovered arms. Not sure why she’d done this, he opened his mouth to ask but received an answer before he could form his question, “it wasn’t enough.”

Those were all the words he needed. Ignoring his body’s reaction until he relaxed once again, “is this enough?”

Scully, almost asleep, the contact exactly what she needed to come back to reality, mumbled into his skin, “mmm-hmmm.”

“Good.” Setting his hand onto her back but keeping it stationary this time, not wanting to disturb her, “true love means asking for what you need.”

Slipping into sleep, Scully hugged him to her and he hugged her tightly back.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Mulder had the sense to be gone by the time she woke up the next morning. He’d moved silently, making sure that even as he untangled his limbs from her, he didn’t look at her, keeping his eyes firmly shut. He wouldn’t be able to face her later if he stole a glance and she would most certainly know he’d done it.

He called her cell phone ten minutes later, promptly at six am, “it’s me. You waking up?”

Scully, completely asleep half a second earlier, couldn’t catch up to the present that quickly, “what?”

Grinning on his end of the phone, “this is your friendly, six am wake-up call. We need to be at the station by seven.”

“Did what’s-his-face call us?”

“What’s-his-face?”

Finally beginning to remember who she was and why she was here, she blinked several times, tossed back the covers and realized she was naked from the waist up. The previous evening came back to her in an instant but rather than feel any embarrassment or shame at her actions, she simply looked from herself to the bed then to her suitcase, to which she walked over and dug out her clothes for the day.

“Scully? You still there?”

Mulder’s tinny voice emerging from her hand made her jump, then shove the phone back up to her ear, “sorry. Yeah, still here. I now remember that his name was Thompson but what’s-his-face is a perfectly good description of him when we are on the phone and out of earshot of said face.”

“What do you say to wearing jeans and boots today? It feels like a jeans and boots day today.”

Immediately tossing her dress pants back in the luggage, she yanked her jeans out, flinging them on the bed, “it totally feels like a jeans day today.”

&&&&&&&&&&

Neither mentioned that night the rest of the 9 days they were in Cartesian. They remained in their respective rooms at the motel on the nights they didn’t catch naps at the police station. They did, however, make sure to have at least a few minutes a day where they were together, either across a table or beside each other on a bench or even sitting on the back bumper of their rental; making sure to emerge from the case for those few minutes, holding hands lightly or pressing sides together or simply resting a head on the shoulder of the other. They didn’t hide this from the rest of the team, allowing the moments to happen whenever they could.

The more senior officers understood and left them alone. They had wives and husbands and family to return to at the end of the day while the two out-of-towners had no one but each other.

&&&&&&&&&&

Thompson took everyone who’d worked the case out for a drink after. The solving had come with a heavy price and liquor was not only encouraged but demanded. They had finally found the seven remaining victims of John “Lanky” Lannigan, all dead, all shot within the last two days and then they’d found Lannigan with a self-inflicted piston shot to the head or as Mulder unofficially put it while he assaulted an already beaten looking dumpster behind the station, a “God-damned, fucking neat little hole in his God-damned, little fucking useless brain instead of the gigantic, painful as hell, shotgun blast to put him so far into hell that he’d open his eyes already on Dante’s sixth level” he should have gotten instead.

Scully allowed each of them one shot of whiskey, then quietly ushered Mulder back to their rooms. Mulder put up a fight but Scully silenced him with a look pitiful enough that he stopped in his tracks, his reved-up rant dying in a spluttered sigh. Once they reached the motel, Scully reached out and tugged at his hand, “come on. We’re going to the diner over there and drown ourselves not in whiskey but in milkshakes.”

“Spiked with whiskey?”

“Maybe when we get home but not right now.”

“I’m taking that as a promise that we’ll be getting soused once we get home.”

Filing the sousing in the back of her mind, she walked them across the street, where they proceeded to jointly consume roughly a gallon of ice cream in milkshake form. For amusement sake, they kept ordering smalls and asking for different flavors, sharing the glass between them with two straws. After chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, blueberry, peach, mint chocolate chip, moosetrack, banana and lemondrop, they called it a night, tipping the waitress well for her trouble before they headed back across the street.

Mulder stopped in front of Scully’s room, “you gonna be okay tonight?”

“Well, after I slip into my diabetic coma in about eight minutes, I should be just fine.” Giving him a smile, even though it was a sad one, “you gonna be okay? Do you want to come hang out for a bit? Watch some infomercials?”

He really and truly wanted to, “I think it’d be better if I go bounce off my own walls. No need to keep you awake. One of us needs some sleep.”

Snagging the end of his shirt, “hey,” once he turned back towards her, “will you come in, please? My coma will take at least an hour, honest and let me tell you, the OxyClean commercials are incredibly riveting.”

Mulder leaned forward, pressing his lips to her forehead, “I will be fine, I promise. I will find the infomercials and be snoring before you finish your shower.”

Knowing when to let it go, she nodded, moving her head in order to kiss him on the cheek, “g’night, Mulder.”

“G’night, partner.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

The next morning, after a sleepless night on Scully’s part, even with the infomercials, she met Mulder at the car, him looking even worse than she did. The plane ride was quiet, both sleeping against each other and once at the car, Mulder took her keys from her, “you look more asleep than me. I’ll drive.”

Yawning, “we can always just call a cab and pick up the car tomorrow.”

“I’ll be fine. Come on. Let’s get home.”

As Mulder pulled out of the airport and onto the dark but still busy street, “your place or mine?”

About to mumble that it was her turn, she instead screamed as the window against which her head was leaning, exploded.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories of their first sleepover ...

Scully missed all the chaos around her. She missed being cut from the car. She missed the loud and speedy ambulance ride. She missed her clothes being sliced off and the needles going in her and the always important catheter insertion, then the scalpels fileting her neatly and the stitches sewing her back up.

Mulder, however, got to witness a good portion of this chaos from the front row. He’d watched the sparks from the saw against the metal of his car. He rode beside her in the ambulance on his own gurney but coherent and answering questions of both her past and present. He asked, quite nicely for him, if the nurse would perhaps prop the door open between his ER procedure room and hers. He got a glimpse of them removing clothes and blood spreading across her gown. He fought not jumping from his table and rushing to her side, hearing her voice in his head saying that the doctors needed room to do their jobs.

It was the only thing that kept him away from her.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Maggie showed up long before Scully made it out of the operating room. Mulder explained, through his various bandages, about the man coming out of nowhere in a blue car to hit them in the passenger side and send her daughter to surgery while he escaped with lots of cuts, a fair number of harsh bruises and a dislocated left shoulder. Maggie gave him the best hug she could, then returned to the surgical waiting area for Scully to finish.  
Mulder received his walking papers about an hour later and made his way to Maggie, setting his bag of belongings beside her but not sitting himself. Instead he chose to pace, going from the back corner of the room, across the area, out into the hall, back into the room to weave through the chairs and return to the back corner to begin again.

Maggie was sadly used to his restlessness when her daughter was in the hospital but she only allowed his routine for about ten minutes before stopping him, “you need to sit down, Fox.”

Brought out of his daze, he looked at Maggie, “what?”

“You need to sit down, Fox. Every step you take looks painful. You turn white and wince every time you move.” Indicating his bag of belongings, “did they give you anything for the pain? Have you picked it up from the pharmacy yet?”

Coming to stand by her, “I picked up the pills before I came up here but if I take anything, I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep and then something will happen to her and I won’t be there.”

“Oh, Fox.” Sliding neatly into mother-hen mode, semi-glad to have something to do while she waited, “let’s go find some water so you can take half a pill? Would that be okay?”

About to protest, he saw her determined Scully look and gave in immediately, “I know there’s a drinking fountain around here somewhere.”  
Maggie gave him a small smile, “I saw it. It’s just around the corner from the nurses’ desk.” Standing, she touched his hand, “come on.”  
Once they’d found the fountain, they returned to the waiting area, Maggie insisting that he sit down for a few minutes to let the medication kick in. 

Following orders, he finally found a semi-comfortable position and proceeded to wait quietly, staring into space.

Not knowing how to make him feel any better, she simply rested her hand on his forearm and waited as well.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

After Maggie had been allowed to see Scully in the recovery room, Mulder was left alone, fighting sleep and residual panic that something could still happen to Scully, even though the doctor had said she’d be fine after the routine procedure.

Mulder had wanted to shout that this was Scully and not a damn thing should be treated as routine and commonplace with her. They’d taken out her spleen. They’d taken out a piece of her, God-dammit and they’d better have not been all flippant and blasé about it or he was gonna raise all kinds of holy hell!

Of course, out loud, he simply said thank you to the doctor several times and shook his hand.

Once Scully was in her room, Mulder shuffled behind Maggie, peering into the room around the door as Maggie held it open for him. Scully looked paler than he’d seen her in a long time, her head stitched up and her face bandaged, dried blood still plastering her hair to her scalp in spots but underneath all the evidence of the accident was Scully, smiling at him as best she could.

He was apologizing profusely as he approached her, Maggie narrowly getting out of the way of his speeding form and awkwardly held arm. Knowing now that her daughter would be okay, she had trouble hiding her smile at the pair but luckily, neither of them took any notice of her at all.

“Stop apologizing. You didn’t make that idiot run the light.”

“He’s just lucky I don’t know where they’re holding his sorry ass.”

Seeing the fire in his eyes, Scully could only agree, then change the subject, “very lucky but will you tell me what happened to you? Mom just said you were hurt but they had discharged you.”

“Who cares about me? I’m mobile. I’m fine.”

“Don’t make me get up to examine you.” Looking sternly at him, “now, will you take a deep breath and relax for me, please? I need you to calm down.”

Mulder felt the intense stares of two Scully women and decided to heed the advice, shutting his eyes and slowing himself down. After a few moments, he opened his eyes again, “how does it feel to have part of you gone? Is it all empty in there? Are the other organs gonna move in and fill the hole?”

She laughed at this, then whimpered as she leaned forward, clutching her side, “oh, son of a … argh!” Both Mulder and Maggie waited until Scully returned to her prone position, giving Mulder a look, “do not make me laugh.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Maggie stayed until she saw Scully nodding off, then stood, “come on, Fox. Time to let Dana get some sleep.”

Mulder exchanged a look with Scully, then stood, groaning, “I need some sleep, too.”

“Do you need me to drop you at your apartment?”

“Um, no, actually. I’m going to call Frohike and have him pick me up. They’re just around the corner.”

“If you’re sure.”

She hugged Scully, then hugged Mulder as well, doing her best to avoid jostling his arm. Mulder hid his pain admirably until she left the room, then groaned, “painkillers are supposed to kill the pain, yes?”

“I don’t think they cover mom’s hugs.”

“Apparently not.”

Scully looked at him, her eyes squinting, “the Gunmen are a good 20 minutes from here, Mulder.”

Settling back in the padded chair, “what’s your point, Scully?”

“How are you getting home?”

“I am home. This is my bed for the night and you can’t get up to stop me or make me move or anything.” Sticking his tongue out at her, he gave her a small smile, “I’m not leaving you here alone and don’t argue.”

Scully’s eyelids fluttered shut, “true love means turning the light off when the other person is in a hospital bed missing an organ.”

Moving back to the switch, “true love means not going home until the other one can.” Once the room was dark, he slowly lowered his lips to her hand, pretty sure he wouldn’t hurt that part with a kiss, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

If she hadn’t been asleep, she probably would have replied.

&&&&&&&&&&&&  
Scully moved wrong and woke herself up, the room around her still dark. Turning her head slowly, she caught the light of the monitors beside her bed shining in Mulder’s open eyes. Croaking out dryly, “why are you awake?”

Pouring out a glass of water, he handed it to her, “woke up about 20 minutes ago and needed to take some more meds. Now I’m waiting for them to kick in. Why are you awake? Do you want me to go get the nurse?”

“No.” Thinking for a moment and assessing, “I think I just pulled my incision but it’s fine. I just moved when I shouldn’t have.”

Mulder waited another beat or two, then settled back in the chair, propping his feet on the frame of the bed, “it’s 2am.”

“Things are always spookiest at 2am.”

With a serious look in his eye but the creases of his mouth threatening a smile, “only sometimes. Other times, 2am can be pretty fun.”

She focused in on him, her eyes dancing in the dim, green light of the room, “yes, they can.” Thinking about where they would have been had the accident not happened, “by the way, since it’s my turn to host ‘your place or mine?’, does this count?”

“Hell, no.”

“But it’s my room and you’re here.”

Mulder sat there, grinning, his cheek resting against his fist, leaning back into the cushions, “fine. This can be your turn but don’t be surprised if you wake up tomorrow morning and I’m wedged in that bed there with you.”

Shifting her head slightly for a better look at him, her lips curling as her voice dropped, “remember the first time at your place? Pretty sure you wedged yourself next to me there, too.”

Opening his fist a little, he grinned then moved a finger to rest against his temple, tilting his head at her, “how could I forget that? First time I’ve ever seen you that drunk.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

“Mulder, you owe me a drink.”

They hadn’t even gotten on the plane yet. The hurricane had backed up all traffic at the airport and they had just settled in to wait the hour before their flight might be boarding. Letting out a sigh, he looked around, “I can’t get you liquor right now.”

“I’m perfectly fine waiting until we’re back in DC but at that point, there will be alcohol purchased by you and consumed by me.”

He couldn’t fight her, given he wanted his own gallon of whatever fiery spirit was closest to the door of the party store around the corner from his apartment. Sticking his legs out into the aisle and settling his head back against the seat, “where are we drinking said libations? Your place or mine?”

“Yours is closer to the airport, therefore we can drink sooner.”

“My place it is.”

They finally made it back to DC intact, for the most part, and headed straight for the car. Once in the liquor store, both of them, already giddy from lack of sleep, began the downward spiral that alcohol would most certainly not be helping. Mulder stood in the middle of the beer aisle while Scully headed for the hard liquor. At first they were quiet but it didn’t take long before Mulder called out, “Marco?” to find her and her reply of “Polo” led to him calling out to her, “is it safe to assume beer is too tame for our plans?”

“Very safe. Get over here. I found something bright blue and it’s right next to something that’s the nice red color of a sunset on the beach.”

Mulder headed towards her immediately, stopping next to her with a heel click, “madam, get them both and we’ll make something purple.”

Taking each bottle by the neck, she turned to him, “we need something clear to go with them because once they’re mixed, I don’t want to ruin the color with something brown.”

About to turn on the ball of his foot and head to the end of the aisle, the clerk at the front counter called out to them, “vodka’s next aisle over.”

“Thank you.” Finding his goal, he then called out to the clerk, “where are you hiding those little umbrellas that when you’re drunk enough, valiantly attempt to poke you in the eye?”

“Up here by the counter.”

Scully looked at him as she passed by, tucking the blue drink under her arm so she could grab a bottle of pre-mix Long Island Ice Tea, “what made you think of umbrellas?”

“I saw them in Florida and I got nostalgic when you mentioned a beach sunset.”

“Get your ass to the counter, Mulder and pay the nice man.”

“Hauling ass.”

The cashier already had the umbrellas in a bag when they got up there. Scully regarded him, then nudged Mulder with her elbow, “make sure to leave him a good tip.”

As Mulder dug his wallet from his pocket, “are you sure you’re not drunk already?”

“Osmosis doesn’t work quite that way, Mulder.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Once they’d mixed some of the blue stuff with some of the red stuff, they created a vile tasting dark purple concoction that they downed quickly, wanting to get rid of it so they could try a different proportion of each. Maybe a nice violet glass would taste less like gasoline.

It did not.

Between the escalating giggling and the shedding of work clothes in order to put on pajamas, Scully’s borrowed from Mulder’s drawer because neither were in any condition by that point to venture to the car to get Scully’s luggage and her own pajamas, the deal was sealed that Scully would not be going anywhere that night.

“Won’t it look back if I stay here?”

Mulder, sunk low in his leather couch, one leg hanging over the arm, drink propped on his knee, “it won’t look bad ‘cause noone’s gonna know and who’s business is it anyways? I’ve slept at your place.”

“I think it was after you were drugged or shot or something though. Now I’m just wasted, for lack of a better word.” Wandering close to the fish tank and quietly asking the fish if they wanted to share her drink, she then turned back to Mulder, swaying slightly, “although since I’m in my pajamas, I wouldn’t be going outside regardless, even if I did remember where I lived, which I really don’t at this point.”

Beckoning her to sit down beside him, “so even if you weren’t drunk, you still wouldn’t go outside because you’re in your pajamas … or actually, my pajamas?”

“I’m not in your pajamas at all. You’re way over there and my arms are too short to reach you.” Waving her arms towards him and falling short of his shirt by several inches, “see? Zombie T-Rex arms too short.”

Mulder burst out laughing, his leg pulling up and his body rolling towards her, “zombie T-Rex! Zombie T-Red!” Laughing even harder, his drink spilling down his shirt, “’cause your hair is red!”

Putting her drink down, she waved her arms at him again, growling this time, “T-Red is coming for you!”

This sent him over the edge and he rolled off the cushions, pushing the coffee table away from himself in the process. Finally calming a few minutes later, he looked at her from where he lay on his back on the floor, “did I spill the rest of my drink?”

Holding it up, “you handed it to me so you must think my short, little arms are good for something.”

Grinning, “you shoot things and cut up people and wave your badge and pull yourself out of sewers and deliver babies and haul my sorry ass all over creation. I love your short, little arms.”

“Just for that, I’ll help you up so you can go get me another glass of the brown tea stuff. The purple scares me but the brown is good.”

“Brown not scary tea coming up.”

&&&&&&&&&

An hour later, they had moved from giggling stage to inactive sloth stage, both melted into the sofa, Scully’s feet stacked on Mulder’s lap, “I hate Florida.”

“I hate hurricanes.”

“I hate Florida in hurricanes.”

“I hate Arthur Dales in Florida in hurricanes.”

“I hate Arthur Dales in Florida in hurricanes with sea monsters.”

Mulder turned his head slowly towards her, “you just said you believe in sea monsters.”

“Shut up, Mulder. I’m drunk.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

Around 2am, which Mulder only knew because he was lying on the floor again, head close to the VCR and the bright aqua colored display telling him is was 2:02am. Flopping his body sideways so he could bring her into his field of vision, blurry as it was, “it’s 2am.”

Scully, now stretched across the couch on her stomach, arm hanging off, hand flat on the carpet, “Oxford education pays off.”

“We didn’t do last call.”

Lifting her head enough to survey the empty bottles on the counter and the well-used glasses strewn across the desk and coffee table, “if I call anymore, I’ll probably be drunk until next week.”

With a smile, Mulder carefully crawled his way over to her, weaving large curves across his floor, getting to her eventually after taking out his desk chair in the process, “you’re on my bed.”

“Tough noogies.”

Summoning enough equilibrium to get to him knees, he fell forward, then crawled up next to her, paying close attention that he didn’t kneel on anything important as he scaled her. Exhausted by the time he made it to her other side, he slid down the back of the couch, wedging himself nicely in the four inches between her body and the cushions, “tough noogies, my ass.”

Rolling carefully to her side, she threw her arm over his feet, which were precariously close to her nose but didn’t smell as hideous as she had expected, “don’t kick me in the face, please.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Suddenly incredibly sleepy, she nuzzled his toes, then found a comfortable spot against his ankle, “g’night Mulder.”

“G’night, T-Red.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

With an amused, half-faced smile, he nudged her leg with his foot, “we were hung over for two days.”

Warm with the memory, “it was nice waking up crammed together on the couch though. Your feet make a pretty good pillow.”

Wincing, he pulled himself up and gently pushed his good arm against her thigh, “think I can squeeze in there?”

Scully moved slowly and carefully over, then, “I think there’s some room.”

As he settled in, he watched her eyes close for the final time that night. Whispering into her cheek, “true love is wishing for a bigger bed but not really caring because you are okay.”

“Mulder?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for staying with me.”

“I’ll never leave you alone.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovery time can be made easier with the right person.

The nurse did her best not to wake the pair of them but in her attempts to be silent, she bumped the bed when she turned around, jostling it just enough to wake the man. He lifted his head, groaned quietly and dropped back to the pillow.  
Once his shoulder pain calmed to semi-managable proportions, he opened his eyes, whispering, “is she okay?”

With a nod, “yes. I was just coming in to check on her and I hit the bed. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Hating to ask his next question, he realized if he didn’t, he was going to pee the bed, “but since you’re here, could you help me up so I can use the bathroom?”

Helping without a word, she steadied him until he stood on his own, “good?”

Mulder gave her a grin, “thanks.”

By the time he returned, Scully was awake and the nurse had already left. Smiling at her, “I needed help to get out of bed. Glad she showed up when she did or you’d have been soaking wet.”

“Very glad.” Waving her hand at him, “come here and help me now, would you? I need to use the bathroom but I told the nurse you’d help me when you were done.”

Already by her side, he held his hand out, “tell me what to do.”

It wasn’t as bad as it could have been but Scully did turn a deathly white once, sucking in air through her teeth when she turned the wrong way, whispering a ‘fuck’ under her breath as she gripped Mulder’s arm, stopping the moving process in an instant. After she could breathe again, “yeah, won’t be twisting that way anymore.”

“Thought I’d lost you there for a second. Glad to have you back.”

Once to the bathroom door, Mulder asked quietly, “do you need help in there? Hold you up or anything?”

Scully could have kissed him for his undiluted sincerity, “thanks but I think I’ll be okay if you’ll just get me to the rails so I can hold on.”

Doing this, he hovered outside the closed door, waiting until she called him again to get her back out. Looking like she already needed a nap, “back to bed?”

After contemplating, she nodded towards the main door, “not yet. I need to get moving and since I’m already up, want to take a walk with me?”

“Of course. Just hang on a second and I’ll get your socks. Looks like you lost them last night somehow.”

Remaining in her spot, she looked down at her feet, “I didn’t even realize I had them on in the first place.”

Mulder returned with the ugly brown, non-slip hospital socks and knelt down to pull them on her feet, wincing only once when he moved his shoulder too quickly. Standing back up, he saw her concerned look and gave her a smirk, “we gotta arrange this hospital thing better in the future. Only one person hurt at a time.”

“You okay?”

“I’ll be fine. I got nothin’ on you.” Pulling the door open, “ready to cruise the halls?”

“Sure. Why not.”

The hallway wasn’t busy at the moment and Scully didn’t feel rushed as she shuffled her way slowly to the end, four doors down, her hand on Mulder’s good arm the whole way. Mulder, peering around the corner, “coast is clear. Let’s go.”  
“Are you pretending to be a ninja or something?”

“You can’t pretend to be a ninja, Scully, you just are.”

Realizing she better not laugh, she just shook her head, “you really ought to be dressed in black then.”

“I’m undercover.”

Soon, they’d made it down the second hall, Scully stopping him before they turned again, “hang on.”

Mulder instantly panicked, “are you okay? Do you need to sit down?”

“No, no, I’m fine. I just need to stop for a minute.” Leaning against the wall, “this is exhausting.”

“Geez, the mighty Scully brought down by one measly removed organ. I thought you were tougher than that.”

Pointing towards her head, “also a mild concussion and a shitload of stitches.”

“Whatever, little miss I have to win.”

“True love is not making fun of the woman who now officially has had more stitches than her partner.”

Leaning forward, he kissed her lightly on the forehead, “true love is conceding defeat to the aforementioned partner.”

“Thank you.”

After holding out his arm to her, “ready to start back.”

She’d been attempting to be a trooper but his kiss turned her human again, “yes please.”

By the time she was back in bed, the beads of sweat were standing out against her chalk white face, “do you want me to go find somebody for drugs?”

Again she whispered towards him, “yes, please,” and he disappeared immediately, the nurse following him back a minute later.

Once she’d gotten her meds and was beginning to drift off, Mulder leaned over, lips meeting her cheek this time, his voice quiet against her skin, “I’m gonna go find some food. Dream good things while I’m gone.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Mulder came back to find Maggie sitting in his chair by Scully’s bed. Shutting the door quietly behind him, he was about to say hello when, “did you ever go home last night, Fox?”

It’s not like he could lie, given he was still in the scrub shirt the ER had given him the day before, “no.”

“Why on Earth not?”

Scully, apparently drifting somewhere in dreamland but listening to them anyways, mumbled, “true love means not going home without your partner.”

Mulder’s insides warmed at this, along with his cheeks, as he sat in the other available chair, “yeah, what she said.”

Maggie, caught between exasperation and elation, simply shook her head, “you two.

&&&&&&&&

Both spent the day alternating between napping and walking, Scully determined to get out of that hospital as soon as humanly possible. To that end, she failed, the doctor telling her in no uncertain terms that she’d be there until the next day. Once they were alone again, Maggie having went home several hours earlier, Mulder looked at her frowning face, hoping to cheer her up some, “so, tomorrow, I know it’s supposed to be my place but you might be more comfortable if we stayed at yours. Which would you prefer?”

Her frown disappeared, replaced with wonder, “mine but … you want to take care of me?”

“Of course. I’m in this for the long haul. Besides, I’ll need somebody to check on my shoulder every so often and given you’re a doctor and all, it’ll just make all this that much easier.”

&&&&&&&&&&

By the time Scully was released the next day, both were desperate for a real cheeseburger and to look at something other than pale blue walls. Maggie drove them both to her daughter’s apartment, then did some quick grocery shopping before she left them alone, knowing both needed a good sleep in a real bed.

It took roughly 2 seconds after Maggie left for Mulder to exchange a look with his partner, “thank you for not painting this place blue.”

Scully nodded, “you’re welcome.”

“Want me to cook some dinner?”

“Oh, God, yes, please. Anything that’s not bland would be great.”

Heading towards the kitchen, “sorry, woman. It’s eggs and oatmeal and water for a little while.”

“You are not fun.” Knowing, however, he was right, she smiled slowly at him when he carried two plates of eggs into the living room, “joining me in my blandness?”

“Just didn’t want to cook twice.” Settling in, he inhaled his food and went back for seconds while Scully took it slower, finishing as he cleaned off his second plate. He cleaned up quickly, then came to stand over her, “who needs a bath first? Me or you?”

Between the stitches in her belly and the ones in her head, she knew conventional showering wasn’t happening anytime soon for her so she waved her hand down the hall, “you.”

He didn’t even attempt to hide his happiness at the thought of soap and warm water, “I was hoping you’d say that. You okay for awhile? Need to pee or anything first?”

“Go forth, Mulder and cleanse thyself.”

Half-hour later, Mulder came back to the living room, wrapped in a pair of basketball shorts and a button-down shirt the gunmen had gathered from his apartment earlier that day. Toweling his hair as he walked, he found Scully napping, knees folded and leaning against the back of the couch, head nestled into the pillow and afghan draped over everything except the tips of her toes. He had to stop for a moment, towel hanging in hand, to look at her.

He hadn’t told her about the terrible scream she’d let out when the car had hit them or the tremendous ear-bleeding screech of the saw as they cut her from the twisted metal of the wreckage. He’d thought she was dead when she didn’t answer him, his heart beating so erratically in his chest from panic that he saw stars in his vision.

Finding himself sitting on the floor in front of the couch, his head inches from hers, his eyes glued to her chest, watching it rise and fall rhythmically with each healthy, life-giving breath she took. In that car, in that nightmare of an accident, he had truly believed he’d never see her breathe again and he wasn’t about to take for granted the opportunity to watch it happen now.

Up, in … down, out … up, in … down, out …

He felt like he could watch that process forever.

Scully interrupted him, however, murmuring in his direction, “what are you doing?”

Without embarrassment, “watching you breath.”

The rhythm changed for a moment as she spoke again, “is it that interesting?”

Unexpected tears burned his eyes and he blinked them away before turning his head to look at her, “it’s the most beautiful thing in the world right now.”

Her face morphed into concern, eyebrows wrinkling together, worry evident as she took in one escaped tear pooled precariously at the corner of his eye, “but I do it all the time.”

“But I didn’t think I’d ever see you do it again.” Another tear pushed the pool over the edge, running a salty track to his chin, then dropping to her hand, “you scared the hell out of me in that car, Scully. First you screamed then you went silent and you wouldn’t answer me and then the paramedics couldn’t get you breathing again and you were so still and I just …” shaking his head in her direction, his nostrils flared slightly as he tried to contain the sob rising in his chest, “please don’t ever do that to me again, okay?”

Moving her thumb up to run it over his trembling lower lip, “I’m right here, Mulder. I’m sorry I scared you so badly.”  
He kissed her finger as it went by, “I wouldn’t know what to do without you.” She simply held his gaze, allowing him his time until he finally gave her a lopsided grin, “but since you’re here and mostly whole, I should probably move on so, um, how do you want to shower?”

Another few seconds sped by, then she moved her hand away from him, “I don’t think I can right now but if you’d help me to the bathroom, I can at least wipe some of the grime off.”

“Oooh, spongebath.”

Watching him stand, she shook her head, “just couldn’t pass it up, could you?”

“Never.”

Mulder waited patiently on Scully’s bed, within earshot of the bathroom but not hovering outside the door this time, for her to call him back in. She’d taken her shirt off, cleaned up, gotten a clean shirt back on, then managed to stand, drop her sweatpants and underwear, kick them off to the side, then clean up some more.

Then she ran into the problem.

She couldn’t get her clean underwear and flannel pants up. She couldn’t bend far enough to get them around her feet.  
This should make Mulder smile.

“Hey, you out there?”

“Yup.” Sliding off the bed, he was by the door in under a second, “what’s up?”

Biting the bullet, “can you come in here and help me get my pants on? I can’t bend over to do it.”

He pushed the door open slowly, peaking around the edge, “did you say your pants?”

“Yeah. When I go to the bathroom, they stay on my knees and I can pull them up but now they’re on the floor …” her face was the color of a tomato by now and hot enough to melt steel, “can you just shut up and get them on for me, please?”

She looked so exasperatingly amusing with her red face and embarrassed squirming that he couldn’t make fun of her. He instead came over, took the clothes from her hands and knelt in front of her, lifting her left ankle up, “can I interject some kind of true love statement here?”

“No.”

Grinning, he moved onto the pants, “you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Scully?”

“Mulder?”

“True love is knowing which is the front and which is the back of your partner’s underwear.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

His shoulder was sore but he could move it slowly without too much pain, as demonstrated to Scully when they were back in the living room on the couch. “See, it’s doing a lot better.”

“That’s good. Just don’t push it, all right?” Sliding down carefully, she resumed her prone position from before her bath, “now, I think I need some sleep. How are you doing?”

“I’m okay. Mind if I watch some TV?”

Eyes already shut, “go for it.”

She fell asleep immediately, leaving him to channel surf until after 8, when he knew he had to give into his own tiredness. His body desperately wanted to lay down but he couldn’t figure out how on the couch without waking her so, after some debate, he covered her up more thoroughly, turned the lights on low and headed to her bedroom, hating to leave her but needing to relax his aching muscles.

Problem was, that damn bed was just too big for one person. How had she been able to sleep in here all these years by herself was beyond him. Granted, he had a full size bed at his place but even then he didn’t sleep in it much, preferring his lumpy, wide couch whenever he was alone.

Given he was awake, he began pondering this, realizing after a moment’s thought, that he only slept in his bed when she was there with him. He used to sleep in it … before … but he’d quickly become accustomed to another warm body beside him.

Well, hell, this wasn’t helping his need to sleep any so he threw decorum out the window and got back up, making sure to pull the covers to the end of the bed before he headed back to the living room. It took all of a minute before he carefully made his way back into the bedroom, a still sleeping Scully in his arms, his bad shoulder throbbing but holding it together.  
Setting her down smoothly, not even causing a stir on her end or a hitch in her breathing, he then climbed in beside her, covering them both carefully with the blankets. Finally getting comfortable, he opened his eyes for one more look at her before falling asleep …

… and found her eyes open, glinting in the light from the hall.

Startled, “sorry if I woke you.”

“It’s okay.” Sliding her arm confidently across the sheets, she slipped her fingers through his, pulling his hand back until it was under her cheek, “this bed gets kinda big when you’re all alone.”

Mulder scooted his way towards her, “two people are definitely better.”

With a smile, “how are you feeling? Need any drugs yet?”

Shaking her head into his palm, “no. I’m okay. What about you? Did you pull anything carrying me, which, might I add, I could have walked if you’d have just asked me to come to bed.”

“Carrying is more fun though.” They stared at each other until Scully finally gave in, her eyes blinking slower and slower until finally they stayed shut. It was then that Mulder took his chance, whispering across the sheets, “why do we only do this after a case?”

Scully heard something but too tired to comprehend, she remained quiet, just as Mulder hoped she would, given he may have been ready to ask the questions but nowhere near ready for an answer.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

The next morning, after getting Scully out of bed, to the bathroom and down the hall to the living room, he disappeared to the kitchen to make breakfast. As he scrambled the eggs and buttered the toast, he heard her say something from the couch, “what? I didn’t hear you.”

She appeared beside him, leaning on the wall, looking tired but fairly pain free, “I said I don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

Resting her head against the archway, “I don’t know why we only do this after cases.”

Mulder nearly lost the grip on the plate he was holding, “you heard me last night?”

Ducking her head, her mouth turned up at the corners, “kind of.”

“Well, then, I guess the next time I find a horrible movie in the cheap bin, I won’t have to wait to watch it. I can just tell you to get your butt to my house and pick up Chinese on the way?”

A warm feeling spread out from her chest as she shrugged the best she could, “when you put it that way, how could I resist?”

Filling up the plates, he nodded his head in the direction of the couch, “exactly. Now, get back in there and sit down, your semi-bland breakfast is coming up.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things were going so nicely, then that damn Cancer Man got in the way ...

It was a rainy and wet and bleak and depressing Tuesday and Mulder spent a portion of his lunch break digging through the cheap movie bin until he came up with the perfect piece of B-roll, sci-fi nonsense that Scully would never even think to watch … until tonight.

He paid his $18.79 for the movie and the bag of munchies, then headed back to the basement, his coat, shoes and head sopping wet long before he hit the elevator that took him back downstairs. Heading through the office door, he grinned and held up the movie for her to see, “woman, we’re getting Chinese and watching this piece of drivelly-trash tonight.”

Scully let the smile spread across her face for a moment before she registered his words, “excuse me? Are you ordering me to come over?”

Backpedaling immediately, “never. I’m just implying the request of your presence this evening whilst we eat Kung-Pow chicken and watch cinematic brilliance … Please.”

The please helped immensely and she nodded, “you picking it up?”

“Of course.”

Their evening plans secured, Scully turned her attention to his drenched and dripping form, “you’re getting the floor all wet.”

“It happens.” Shrugging out of his coat and hanging it, he then bent over, scrubbing the water out of his hair and flinging it from one side of the room to the other, getting Scully wet in the process. Before he could stand back up, however, he felt a towel drop over his head, small hands rubbing Mulder’s scalp dry while he stared at her stocking feet. Once she stopped her ministrations, he stood up, the towel dropping to around his shoulders, “where are your shoes?”

“Under the desk. I don’t need shoes to type.” Looking down again, she saw his wet pant legs sticking to his shins, “but you probably need dry pants. Do you have anything to change into?”

Not too worried given the day would only be a few hours longer, “I could put on my gym clothes but I haven’t washed them in about a week.”

Scully held up her hand, “I’ll just aim the space heater at your legs.”

Mulder did his best not to fidget for the remainder of the afternoon, not to give any outward signs that he was incredibly restless, the pair of them having been on desk duty for the last four weeks, since Scully’s surgery.

Scully, however, was not as unobservant as Mulder hoped she was and finally slid her shoes back on, standing, “come on Mulder, it’s close enough to five and I’m hungry.”

Looking at his watch, he ignored that it was only 4:18pm and stood quickly, “Golden Palace or Mario’s Noodle Hut?”

“Do you really need to ask?”

“The Noodle Hut it is.”

“Extra soup please.”

Already handing her her coat, he ignored the squelching still happening in his shoes as he hit the lights and closed the door, following close behind towards the elevator, “and extra crunchies I assume?”

“Without them, there’s no point to extra soup.”

Pressing the lobby button, “very true.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

Parting ways in the parking garage, Mulder headed towards food while Scully headed towards Mulder’s apartment. The food didn’t take very long and soon he was struggling up the front steps of his building, balancing two heavy plastic bags full of mouth-watering goodness, his gym bag full of dirty clothes and the bag of snacks he’d picked up along with the movie.

Not to mention the fact that it was still pouring buckets.

Finally making it through his front door, he found Scully waiting for him, hands already looping through bag handles, freeing him to drop his gym clothes and toss his sodden coat over the rack, “thanks. Were you waiting for me?”

Heading into the kitchen, she called over her shoulder, “I heard you walking down the hall and figured you’d need a hand.”

Once he deposited his shoes in the corner, he moved to the kitchen, poking his head in, “hey, I’m gonna change. I’ll be back in a minute.” About to disappear, he did a double take, “are you wearing my clothes?”

Looking down at the oversize sweatpants and Orange Crush t-shirt she’d stolen from one of his drawers, she glanced up, “yeah. It was either this or be soaked for the next six hours.”

“How long did it take you to get from your car to inside?”

Ignoring food at the moment, she launched her tale, “so I get here and everything’s fine and then I get out of the car … shutting the bottom of my coat in the door. I didn’t realize it though and when I went to run inside, my coat stayed in the door and I got pulled back, my feet slipped and I landed in the gutter, half under the car. The water,” she stopped talking here, looking down in wonder as Mulder began lifting her shirt, pushing it up far enough to have his knuckles brushing the bottom curve of her breasts. Once his other hand began prodding her still pink incision scars, she realized the issue and smiled quietly before putting on her Scully-face, “at least you bought me dinner first.”

He stood up suddenly, dropping her shirt and turning red, “sorry … I … sorry. I just wanted to make sure your … stitches were okay.”

Cheeks warming, she dropped her eyes, knowing meeting his at the moment would just make her grin and more than likely she’d give him a good, long hug. “Nope. I’m good. My insides pulled a little but nothing more than that. I am still in one piece and able to scoop the Kung Pow as well as start back to real, honest-to-God FBI-ing tomorrow morning.”

The look of relief on his face had her biting back a chuckle, “Good. Sorry for the space invasion, by the way.”

To show her forgiveness, she speared a piece of chicken and held it up to his lips, “you are forgiven.” Waiting until he was chewing, “want to hear the rest of the story?”

“Yeah. So you were hip deep in nasty water in the gutter … continue.”

“I was hip deep in nasty water and once I climbed out from under the car and stood up, I immediately and I mean immediately, got sprayed by this bus who was going way too damn fast for this kind of weather.”

“So that was your puddle in the elevator?”

“I can only assume so.”

Giving her the once over, “well, I could have handled the wet-t-shirt contest look when I got here but I gotta say, you look pretty good in my 17-year old shirt as well.”

“True love means not ruining your partner’s couch with gallons of rainwater.” Waving her hand in the direction of his bedroom, “now go change so we can eat.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

The movie he bought that day wasn’t bad but the second one they moved onto, one he’d purchased a few weeks back, was completely terrible, even by Mulder’s standards and he had incredibly low standards when it came to movies. About halfway through, he was forced by darkness and Chinese food warm belly, to lay down, invading both Scully’s space and her lap, his head resting comfortably on her thigh.

At first, things were slightly unnerving given she had no idea where to put her left arm but once the giant tarantula had eaten halfway through Miami, she gave in, settling her hand near his shoulder, sliding down enough to get her feet up on the coffee table. She also felt him smile into her leg before wiggling just a little to get more comfy.

Resting her head back into the cushions, she smiled at well.

She felt him fall asleep but finished out the movie, knowing he’d ask her how it ended. Satisfied she’d remember the tarantula’s death by choking on a semi-truck full of gasoline, she clicked the TV off, running her fingers along his bare elbow and up slightly under his shirt sleeve. He didn’t move at her touch so she didn’t stop, trying to wake him up but not really trying at all, enjoying the feel of his warm skin as she looked around the darkened apartment.

The more she came here, the more she loved it. It had a low, cozy quality to it; the dark wood, the darker furniture, the earthy dark tones of his blankets and the darker reds of his rug. In contrast, her apartment always seemed a little too big, too high ceiling-ed, too bright white and sanitary when she went back home after a night at Mulder’s. She loved her apartment, no question, but sometimes it felt like a hug walking into his place and she discovered that sitting there, in the dark, Mulder warm against her, she really didn’t want to ever leave.

Instead of freaking out completely, she simply grinned, wondering if they could spend the rest of their lives encased in soft leather and each other.

But then again, both of them would have cricks in their necks by morning if they stayed in their current positions so, albeit reluctantly, she began massaging his upper arm, “Mulder? Mulder?”

He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “go away” but then turned his body around, now facing her t-shirt covered belly. His eyes were half-open and mostly asleep as he stared up at her, “you gonna stay tonight?”

Feeling her ears heat instantly, she pushed the hair off his forehead, “if you don’t mind.”

“True love means I never mind.” With a hint of a smile playing on his lips, he sat up, stood up, then pulled her up beside him, leading her to the dark bedroom, Scully following at his heels, hand still wrapped in his. The bed was made, the piles of miscellaneous nonsense shoved discretely against the walls, a nightlight burned blue in the bathroom.

Mulder only let go of her hand as he pulled the covers back and climbed under them, flipping Scully’s side back for her as she walked around the bed. Once settled in, she caught Mulder looking at her from his pillow. Sliding her hand across, she tapped him gently on the nose, “go to sleep.”

“I got you a nightlight.”

“I noticed. Now I won’t fall over all the junk on the floor. Thank you.”

“Nothing’s too good for my Scully.”

Moving her hand up, she scratched lightly through his hair, “g’night.”

Eyes shutting immediately, he slid his sock covered toes across the mattress until they ran into her calf, “g’night.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Scully slipped out early the next morning, needing to go home to find clothes and shower before heading back to work. She really needed to toss an overnight bag in her trunk although, if she did that, she wouldn’t be able to wear Mulder’s clothes home, secretly enjoying the giddy and rebellious feeling as she headed out of his place at 6am in her rumpled pajamas.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Several days later, Scully seriously wished she’d never gone home that morning and that her working restrictions had lasted another two weeks.

The gunmen were gone, they’d already investigated the now empty office space, had a knock-down, drag-out fight on the way back home and were now in Mulder’s apartment, Scully parked against his desk, arms at her sides, fists gripping the worn wood and Mulder was stationed once again in the doorway. Every so often he’d blink or shift his feet but never moving more than an inch, until Scully finally had to break the quiet.

Leaning forward, a single tear ran down her nose and dropped to the floor before she looked up again, “I don’t know what else to say.”

She watched him bite the inside of his cheek, gnawing on the tissue for several moments until he spoke, “you have never had to go I.D. my body, Scully. You have no idea, can’t even begin to fathom what that does to me.”

“But you didn’t have to do that this time.”

He finally moved, letting go of the doorframe and dropping onto the couch, Scully moving carefully to sit beside him, “this time, Scully? Did you just hear yourself? This time.”

“Mulder …”

“I hate that you disappeared with Spender. I hate that you believed that lying bastard for even a second but that hatred is infinitesimal compared to the terror I felt because I thought you had been taken again.” 

“He told me that the deal would be off if I told you anything.”

Back off the couch, Mulder paced around the room a few times, much like a caged dog, before, “I’m beginning to wonder if you chose to believe that because you knew I wouldn’t have let you go.”

That was not the best phrase to use at the moment, “you wouldn’t have let me?”

“Don’t pull that feminist crap with me right now, all right? You knew I’d fight you on it and argue and you wanted to do it so you just left.”

Scully was now standing, leaning over the coffee table towards him, “sound familiar, you jackass?”

That stopped him for a minute, “are we back to you being pissed at me for ditching you in the past? You realize when I ditch you, I usually come back with evidence, a suspect, something more than a blank disk and a fucking story about a black dress.”

She felt her feet move and in the blink of an eye, she was standing on the coffee table, sizing up her partner before she decked him, right hook to the eye. As he doubled over, she stepped down, cradling her hand and attempting not to cry.  
“Fuck! What the hell!?”

Moving towards the kitchen quickly, Scully prayed for ice, “just get in here, would you?”

Mulder followed, tears rolling out of the eye she’d hit, and dug in his kitchen drawers for some bags to put the ice in. He handed her several as she knocked the ice tray on the counter with her good hand, vainly attempting to free the cubes through sheer annoyance.

Moving his hand from his rapidly swelling face, he took the tray, “let me do it or we’re gonna be here all night.”

Scully surrendered the tray, “you’re a God-damned pain in the ass, you know that?”

“Takes one to know one.”

With a, ‘fuck you’ she left, flexing her hand and debating whether she should have hit him again before she stormed away.

&&&&&&&&&&

She somehow made it into her apartment but she honestly had no recollection of the drive there. After tossing her coat across the room, she stomped to the bathroom, running her stiffening hand under cold water while she studied her face, twisted in still fresh anger and eyes flashing with the very real need to kill her partner.

The more she looked at herself, however, the calmer she became, her heart thudding less, her muscles uncoiling. Flexing her hand, it hurt but she knew she hadn’t broken anything so a trip to the emergency room was luckily not in her future. Finally shutting the water off, she turned and sank to sit on the edge of the bathtub.

She couldn’t leave it like this.

There was no way she could leave it like this.

After a ten minute debate, she stood, moved back to the living room, pulled her coat back on and headed out into the night.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Mulder wanted to throttle her. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she admitted she’d done something monumentally stupid. He wanted to scream at her until his voice gave out and she said she was sorry.

These looped thoughts kept him ragingly pissed for a good 15 minutes, until his eye stopped throbbing and the ice began to melt. Then rationality set in, as it always did eventually and he leaned against the counter, head hanging, his brain slowing enough to tell him they couldn’t leave things this way.

If they did, it would destroy them and he couldn’t live with that.

Tossing the water-filled zipper bag in the sink, he grabbed his coat and keys and strode down to the elevator.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Scully was about halfway to Mulder’s when she could have sworn she’d seen his car. Confused, she picked up her phone, calling him immediately, “hey, it’s me. Did I just pass you about a minute ago by the McDonald’s?”

Mulder, in turn, had been pretty sure Scully had passed him a short time ago, “yeah, I thought that was you. I was about to call.”

Continuing her course, she remained silent until Mulder spoke quietly, “turn around and head back to the Holiday Inn. I think this calls for a night at ‘our place’.”

“See you in a few minutes.” Soon, they were standing in a semi-shabby but comfortable room, double bed on one wall, TV on the other, “didn’t want to spring for the Jacuzzi room, huh?”

“Not this time, sorry.”

“S’alright. Too tired anyways. I’d probably drown.”

“Thank God for that true love statement then, huh? Might be pissed at you but definitely not allowed to let you drown.”

Moving in front of him, “come here, let me see your eye.”

Bending down obediently, he let her feel his cheekbone, then prod his nose, wincing but not pulling away. Declaring him just bruised, she went to turn when he grabbed her arm, holding her hand up to his face, “how’s the hand?”

“Bruised and a little stiff but nothing major. Should be okay in a few days.”

Mulder met her eyes over her slightly swollen knuckles, holding the gaze for a moment before kissing her fingertips lightly, “hungry?”

Scully shook her head, “not really. More exhausted than anything.”

On cue, Mulder yawned, “agreed. Ready to get some sleep?”

This stopped her, a look of surprise raising her eyebrows, “I don’t have anything to sleep in.”

Having just occurred to Mulder as well, he totally didn’t feel like running back to his apartment for anything and he knew Scully wouldn’t either, “well, then, we’ll just have to make do. I can sleep in my boxers and,” pulling lightly at the black tshirt he was wearing, “you can have this. It’ll be big on you but it’s either that or naked.”

Looking down at her dress pants and blouse, she tweaked the front of his shirt, “let me have it.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

Once in the dark, lying beside one another, Mulder staring at the ceiling, Scully on her side facing the door, the quiet began to weigh on them, the silence between them filling with awkward tension, which from Mulder’s experience, was the last step towards anger. Deciding to try to disperse it before it got too heavy, “I can hear you thinking.”

Scully, continuing her long stare at the door, “I think I forgot to oil the hamster wheel again. Sorry for the squeaking.”

Shifting to his side, then with his hand on her arm, he rolled her towards him. Given the narrow bed, she was now nestled against him. Shifting his hand to pull the covers up, he settled palm flush on her side, “what were you thinking about?”

“What do you think I was thinking about?”

“How we’re both idiots?”

Groaning quietly into his chest, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hitting you and I’m sorry for ditching you and I’m sorry for not telling you.”

Mulder squeezed her, the sigh he produced ruffling her hair at the same time, “I’m sorry I’m me. It’s what I do best.”

Pulling back to look at him, “what the hell is wrong with us?”

With a dropped kiss to her forehead, he shut his eyes, “I can’t handle that discussion right now.”

“Another time?”

“Another time.”

Problem was, both were now thinking … and thinking … and thinking …

“Mulder?”

“Still here.”

“How long have we been awake?”

Glancing at the digital clock beside the bed, “I’ve been awake for about four days, how ‘bout yourself?”

Scully sat up immediately, anger on her face, “that’s not fair.”

He didn’t really mean it badly but the look on her face combined with his exhaustion pissed him off all over again but he took a deep breath, fingers rubbing his temples, “I didn’t … I didn’t mean it in like that, all right. I just meant … I’m so tired, Scully, you have no idea.” Looking up at her, her face shadowed, eyes bloodshot, skin pale, he waved his hand at her, “get back down here, would you?”

Instead of stretching back out beside him, she slid from the covers, moving to stand a few feet from the mattress, her body mostly in shadow except for the length of her white legs under her borrowed shirt. “I said I was sorry, all right? How many times would you like me to repeat it?”

Wishing he’d never opened his damn mouth, he sighed and stood, padding over to her, stopping within inches, his hands on her upper arms, “would you come back to bed, please?”

“Do you accept my apology, like I’ve accepted yours?”

Mulder moved to rest his forehead against hers, “true love means accepting your apology and it means you accepting mine before we go to sleep for the night.”

Eyes slipping shut, she moved her hands to his waist without realizing it, her thumbs rubbing just above his half-exposed hipbones, “when did this get difficult?”

“I have no idea.”

After he shifted from her upper arms to her hands, he grasped her thumbs, “come to bed.” Nodding, they were soon beside each other, Scully in Mulder’s arms, sheets warm over them. Neither feel asleep, however, Mulder’s hamster wheel now squeaking uncontrollably.

She didn’t have time to ask before Mulder slowly began running his hand from her spine to her lower back and up again. Nearly lulled to sleep by the gentle massage, she stirred at his whispered voice in her ear, “I lied. I do know when this got difficult.”

Trying to pull back a little to look at him, he held her in place, “when?”

“When we stopped being a ‘you’ and a ‘me’ and we became an ‘us’. “

“We’re an ‘us’?”

He couldn’t help the grin on his face, “apparently. I used to run off and I didn’t give a thought to anybody else but I’ve been lying here thinking and I realized that I haven’t ditched you in months. And I think it’s because I’m thinking of you now.” Moving lower on her back, he slipped under the hem of her shirt, fingers on skin, then ran his way up her spine again, “and I think that I got thoroughly pissed at you because I didn’t have a say. ‘Us’s decide things together.”

“We’re an ‘us’?”

Mulder chuckled this time, “it’s okay if it takes a while to sink in.”

Scully was quiet for another minute while Mulder waited for her to form her thought, “are we okay being an ‘us’?”

“I don’t mind being an ‘us’. It seems to keep me from running off.”

The soft silence wrapped them in its warmth as Mulder continued his trek up and down her back. With every movement, her shirt pulled up more, leaving more and more skin exposed to his touch. She remained still, quiet until his hand drifted further down than ever, running into the top seam of her underwear and the beginning of the flare of her hip.  
She stiffened instantly and Mulder pulled his hand back, “sorry. Stopped paying attention to where I was.”

Her voice cracked even in her whisper, “I don’t mind.”

He was waking up quickly but moving slow, he rolled a little more towards her before putting his hand back in its previous position, “you don’t mind?”

Exhaustion playing entirely too big a role in her submission to his warm hand on her tingling back, she repeated, “I don’t mind.”

He began his travels yet again, straying from the dip of her spinal cord out to her shoulder blades, her smooth skin beckoning him further. Soon, he was exploring the expanse of her back, eyes closed, nose and forehead touching hers yet again. On his return trip to her waist, he hesitated at the previous barrier then moved his fingers under the fabric, teasing the skin just a little before returning to familiar territory above.

Scully seriously thought she was going to explode but forcing herself to relax, she took a deep breath in, hoping she was dragging it out enough that Mulder wouldn’t notice.

That didn’t happen.

“You okay there, Scully?”

Her entire body clenching in a shivering, cold wave-y, goosebumpy kind of way and she grinned widely for half a second before she answered, her voice embarrassingly higher pitched than it had been five minutes earlier, “I’m fine.”

Mulder laughed at this, shaking the bed in his amusement, “we are pathetic, you know that?”

“I am very much aware of my pathetic-ness at this moment, Mulder, thank you.”

His hand returned to its spot underneath the waistband of her underwear, then continued further, until his entire hand lay against her, fingers curving slightly to follow the contours of her ass.

His hand was on her ass.

She was awake for it.

He didn’t feel his imminent death so he told her quietly, “a while back, I woke up with my hand on you like this, well, on top of your clothes and I came up with ‘true love meant sleeping with your hand on your partner’s ass ‘.”

Wondering if she’d be able to answer him coherently, “no wonder you’re holding it together. You’ve done this already.”  
“You’re not holding it together?”

“I’m walking a thin line between exhausted delirium and delirious exhaustion. I’m pretty sure I’m asleep and if you move and wake me up, I’m gonna be incredibly angry.”

He very nearly told her she was possibly the most adorable thing he’d ever seen so far in life but taking in her closed eyes and her even breathing, he realized she’d fallen asleep.

She’d fallen asleep, his hand on her ass, just after she’d confessed his actions were both driving her crazy and the same actions that apparently happened in her dreams.

Snugging in more comfortably with her, he closed his eyes, deciding if this was indeed a dream, maybe he could find a way to continue it once he fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That damn little black dress rears its ugly head once again ...

She watched him through heavy eyes, her brain muddled in sleep while he seemed wide-awake, alert enough to make her want to kill him … or at least … no, actually kill him. Burying her head in the pillow, she vainly attempted to go back to her warm, cozy slumber but no such luck. Just as she felt her body shifting from nearly awake to nearly asleep, a telltale knee cracked beside her ear.

“You awake in there?”

If she faked it, maybe he’d give in, crawl back beside her, allow them their cocoon for another hour or three before the world got all edgy and angry and insisted they get up to stomp baddies into the ground.

Mulder knew she was awake, though. How could he not. He’d slept next to her on enough occasions that if there wasn’t the slightest of whistles coming from her nose, she was totally playing possum but since he’d never give away her tell, he simply began talking, his voice low and even, doing his best to disguise his excitement, “so there’s this person, guy, human out there who seems to be stalking and killing prostitutes but no one can figure out how. I’m pretty sure he knows how to disappear.”  
Why did he have to dangle crap like this in front of her, her scientific mind jumping to ten thousand perfectly plausible explanations but as always, there was that damn hint of pure curiosity. Not curiosity about how the actual crimes were taking place but curiosity at just what Fox Mulder would be able to concoct this time and be so absolutely, positively pure in his convictions that she’d open her eyes, drag her ass out of a nice, warm bed and follow him to wherever the hell he led her, willingly with every step.

Damn it, there was that niggling wonderment.

She opened an eyelid in his direction, finding him smiling at her, head resting on the mattress beside her pillow, smile soft and unmistakably ‘happy’ Mulder. She growled to cover any hint of interest in her voice, “what?”

Giving a quiet chuckle, he leaned over to drop a kiss on her forehead before he stood back up, “that’s my inquisitive girl.”

“I was sleeping, Mulder.”

“No you weren’t. Come on, lazybones.” He was already pulling his jeans on, “I need my shirt.”

Scully finally sat up, red curls surrounding her head, “is there time to shower at home or are we just gonna go right to work, teethbrushing be damned?”

“Don’t tempt me. I can get by with my charm and a nice, strong mint.”

Her feet hit the ground and she scooped up her clothes, “trust me, you can’t.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

He ditched her again.

She yelled at him over the phone and threatened to kill him.

But, in all great honesty, aside from possibly contracting the first known case of doorknob gonorrhea at the fleabag hotel that made even Mulder’s choices in accommodations looks like palatial estates, she didn’t mind the assignment. Sure, there were frat boys peeing and puking in the gutter and more than a few eye-shutting moments when she thought that if she was watching the future of their society attempting to procure sexual acts of unheard of contortion and agility while drunk off their asses, she’d better start thinking about defection to Canada immediately, but all in all, she was okay with the situation.

Mulder wasn’t there to distract her with his voice or his hair or his continuously jiggling knee or his constant need to be within three inches of her at any and all times. He wasn’t there to make her recall his hand on her or his voice in her ear, snoring lightly and moving tiny hairs that tickled her in an astoundingly erotic way.  
She really should have brought more reading material.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

After telling him they’d caught there ‘disappearing’ suspect, Scully hung up with Mulder and returned to the hotel room to pack up their surveillance equipment, haul it all back to the FBI, then write her report. All heavy lifting done and paperwork filled out, she jumped when her phone rang in the quiet of their basement office.

“Scully.”

“Hey, it’s me. I just landed. Where are you at?”

“The office. I’ve finished the casenotes and was about to head home for that nine hour bath.”

Feeling guilty for having left her with the grunt work, he offered, “how about you go home and take your bath and I’ll grab dinner and meet you there?”

Scully heard the pathetic attempt to make sure she wasn’t mad at him too much and grinning, she did her best to keep the amusement from creeping into her voice, “would you mind getting some Italian at Stanislawski’s and maybe grabbing my dry cleaning from next door?”

Anything to keep her from beating the crap out of him when he was least expecting it, he agreed, then hung up, already knowing what she would order and reminding himself to get extra breadsticks.

&&&&&&&&&&

Walking in an hour later, he found her just drying her hair, towel around her head, pajamas bottoms settled low on her hips, long sleeve t-shirt snug around her shoulders. The bag of food nearly hit the ground but Scully rescued it, seeing the dazed look that she thought she might have caused, in his eye. “Hey there, don’t be dropping my dinner. I’m starving.”

Back to reality immediately, he surrendered the food, “thank you for not maiming me as soon as I came in the door. I was thinking maybe you would enact revenge for leaving you in that hotel.”

“Still debating it.” Giving him a small smile, she headed to the kitchen while he toed off his shoes, shrugging his coat off and draping it over the chair, “when you’re done, could you go hang up the dry-cleaning in my closet, please? Thank you for getting it, by the way.”

“Not a problem. “ Mulder headed down the hall, made it to the bedroom, ignoring the clothes strewn across the bed and the suitcase on the floor. Hanging the hangers in an open space, he happened to notice the dress beside the newly hung outfits. Taking the article of clothing in hand, he went from happy-go-lucky Mulder who had Scully and lasagna waiting for him in the kitchen to red-hot, thoroughly pissed Mulder who did not enjoy his life one bit at the moment.

Moving to the doorway, “Scully?”

She came around the corner, eyed the dress and lost her appetite, “why are you holding that?”

“Is this the dress?”

Quickly down the hall, she stopped a foot or two from him, “it’s a dress.”

“It is that dress, though?”

“Don’t start this again, Mulder.”

Rage burned his eyeball dry yet kicked his salivary glands into overload, “why the hell do you still have it?”

“Stop. Right now.”

Both knew, however, that it was just beginning, “you kept Smoky’s dress? Did you enjoy your little dinner more than you care to admit?”

“It’s a fucking dress, okay? I kept it because it’s a nice dress. Would you just grow up and leave it alone?” Scully’s face was slowly turning the same shade of pissed off red that she usually only showed him in the elevator after a particularly trying meeting with Kersh.

This just fueled him more. Holding the dress a little closer to her, “looks fairly fitted. Think Old Smoky lived out some twisted fantasy while he drugged you up and got out his measuring tape.” The words flew from him in a blind-rage but the moment they registered in his ears, he wished he could reach out, grab them, stuff them back in his mouth.

Keep that look from her face.

The one that clearly told him she hated him in that moment.

Before he realized it, he was alone in the hall, the bathroom door slamming shut hard enough to vibrate the pictures on the wall and for his heart to crack in two.  
Why was he such an ass-hat to her all the damn time?

Tossing the dress over his shoulder to the bed, he moved across the hall, trying the doorknob carefully, knowing it’d be locked but needing to attempt anyway. Leaning in, his forehead against the hollow wood of the door, he waiting a few moments, listening for swearing or breaking things or her voice calling her very large brothers to come kick his ass.

Instead, there was silence, a silence he hoped and prayed wasn’t being filled with cascading tears and regrets at having ever come down into the basement all those years ago.

Swallowing hard, he whispered her name through the painted white barrier, “Scully? Scully, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

The silent seconds multiplied but Mulder refused to budge, trying again a minute later, “Scully?”

&&&&&&&&&&

She had debated many times in their partnership about killing him. The ways she’d do it, the location, the ease of cleanup afterwards, the proximity to the refrigerator and television because the first thing she would be doing when she got him out of her life would be to eat a gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream and watch the girliest chickflick in the known universe in glorious celebration.

This time was no different.

The utter and complete fury she felt towards him drove her to the bathroom, the closest proximity door she could slam with all her might, allowing her pent-up hellish-hot wrath some kind of vent before her blood pressure induced a continental size stroke.

It felt pretty good and she considered opening it just to slam it again but with her hand on the doorknob, she felt Mulder try to get it. Quickly, she twisted the lock instead, wanting to keep a nice, semi-solid barrier between them for the moment.

Her head resting against the frame afforded her the opportunity to hear his desperately quiet apology.

And her anger drained away in the tears she didn’t realize were rolling down her cheeks. Swiping at them, she couldn’t find a voice to answer him with so she waited, knowing the lapsed time would allow Mulder to take a deep breath and herself a chance to get her sudden, frightening sadness under control.

A shuffling, sliding sound made her wonder what had happened and as usual, her curiosity got the better of her, her voice soft against the wood, “Mulder?”

&&&&&&&&&

He’d backed against the door, sliding down it to rest himself on the floor, not knowing if he’d be here five more minutes or the next week. He didn’t care either way, he’d stay forever if he had to, but if it was going to be a week, he at least wanted to sit down for it.

“I’m here.”

His voice registered closer to the floor that it should, “what are you doing?”

“Sitting on the floor. I figure I’m here for the long haul, I might as well be more comfortable while you debate whether to ever forgive me.”

His voice shook slightly, with the vibration of one who had already been crying but was valiantly trying not to let people know, which of course, didn’t work with Scully because she was her and he was him and she knew every kind of voice he had and every kind of cadence and every warble and pitch and crack and he was an open book to her when he talked, especially in the dark when all she had to go on were his emotion-baring tones.

She had made him cry.

She settled on the floor as well, head resting back against the door, “I’m down here, too.”

“Put your fingers under the door.” Such an odd request at such an odd time made her do it unquestioningly, the door gap at least an inch, allowing her fingers to slip under easily. It only took a moment for his fingers to find hers and zippering them together as well as space allowed, “I’m so sorry, Scully, I didn’t even mean what I was saying. I just saw the dress and flipped out, totally and regrettably.”

“Mulder?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t give a shit about the dress. I hated it when he gave it to me and I hated wearing it even more and I hate that I kept it instead of throwing it away the second I took it off and I hate, I hate, I hate, that you are jealous over some stupid piece of satin and silk.”

He could see the dress through the bedroom door, hanging precariously on the edge of the bed, half an inch from slithering to the floor and half an inch from driving a wedge between them, “it should have been me who went with him. It should have been me who nearly got killed on the lake. It should have been me who came home disappointed and it should have been me who protected you.”

“It was my choice, Mulder. Just mine.”

“If something had happened to you, it would have killed me. Plain and simple.”

“I know.” Shutting her eyes, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I know I said it that night but I actually mean it and feel it this time.”

Mulder knew exactly what she meant, “I’m truly sorry for making you feel like I have and like I did. I just … I swear, Scully, I have absolutely no idea what I’d do without you and that damn dress just triggered my worst fears and I was an asshole to you and you never deserve that, ever.”

Beginning to play with his fingers, rubbing them lightly across the tips, “no, I don’t but I will do my best not to drive you to it, okay?”

“Okay.” Thinking for a moment, “can I come in yet?”

She wasn’t quite ready for that yet, “not yet. Some things are easier to say this way.”

Stomach turning slightly, he gripped her fingers again, “what else do you need to tell me?”

Knowing it was now or never, she gulped, then, “if you don’t go warm up some dinner right now, I’m going to scream terribly loud and for a very long time, then my blood sugar is going to drop like a rock and I’m going to faint and you’re going to have to break down my damn door and drag my ass to the hospital and buy me a new door on top of paying the hospital bill for saline, blood tests and unknown amounts of Payday bars.”

He snorted at that, then with a final finger squeeze, tried to pull his hand back. She didn’t let go of him, however and he stopped, “anything else?”

Mulder heard the door latch unlock as she spoke softly, “I love you.”

Kneeling, he got his hand back, then slowly pushed open the door, finding Scully kneeling on the tile, “as in ‘true love means telling your partner anything, including ‘I love you’, just to get him to go warm up the food’?”

With a genuine smile, teeth, gums and crinkled eyes, “something like that.”

“I figured.” Pulling her up next to him, she detoured to the bedroom, quickly grabbing the offending black dress before moving back towards the kitchen. Once there, she opened the trash can lid but he stopped her hand, “why are you throwing it out?”

“Because it’s not you and it’s not me and it’s not us.”

Mulder let her go, allowing her to puddle the dress on top of four-day old paper toweling and dryer lint, “I got you extra breadsticks.”

“I should certainly hope so.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

He fell asleep somewhere after lasagna but before pajamas. He’d brought his luggage up with him, presumably for the aforementioned pajamas, toothbrush, soap if he needed a shower and Scully sat beside him, staring at the leather and nylon bag for several minutes before carefully standing, making sure Mulder stayed well and asleep for her next tasks. She started by taking his things into her room and sorting between clean and dirty. Next, she threw his dirty items in with hers and began a load of laundry, leaving his rumpled flannel pants and thermal out on the bed. She then took the two pairs of clean jeans, several tshirts, some underwear, socks and a thin sweatshirt and proceeded to clear a drawer in her dresser and pack his things into it, not questioning her actions but enjoying the subsequent warm feeling from having his things beside hers, even if the drawer walls separated them. She also snuck in the items he’d left at her house over time, basketball shorts, some more socks, a holey t-shirt with an alien talking to Elvis on it.

Next, she set his toothbrush on the counter in the bathroom and got him a clean towel to hang beside her still damp one on the rack.

Once the kitchen was picked up and the TV dark, the living room lamp off while the nightlight in the hall burned low, she crouched in front of him, “Mulder? Would you like to come to bed or stay out here tonight?”

He mumbled an unintelligible response and sank further into the couch, his head coming to rest on the pillow she hastily slipped under him. Smiling, she ruffled his hair and kissed his nose, whispering, ‘good night’ before heading to bed, bone tired from both the last four days but more from the draining arguing earlier in the evening.

Nearly asleep, she never heard him come in but once his warm hand moved over her waist and he scooted her back against him, she let out a contented sigh, him matching it a moment later, “g’night, Scully. I love you back.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midnight pancakes and unnecessary pie ...

Scully’s bladder drove her from the bed, waking her from a sound sleep and forcing her to slip from the firm grasp Mulder had on her butt.

Apparently once given permission or at least admitting to the transgression, Mulder gravitated towards that particular area, awake or asleep.

It amused her and she grinned as she hurried across the carpet, toes curling when they hit the cool bathroom floor. More wide awake than she should be for this time of night, she opted to go throw their clothes in the dryer once she’d finished, then get a drink of water and cruise the door and window locks, checking to make sure all was safe and sound.

Heading back down the hall towards her room, she walked through the open door and pulled up short, her hand jumping to her chest in surprise when she found Mulder sitting on the edge of the bed, bare feet hooked on the frame and comforter pulled around his shoulders. Waiting a beat to calm her pounding heart down, “Mulder? What are you doing up? Did I wake you?”

He was still partially asleep, his hair sticking in 12,000 directions, his right cheek red from the pillow, his eyes shadowed, mouth slow to smile, “nope. Feet got cold but I can’t find any socks.” Shifting his eyes towards his luggage as he huddled deeper in the quilt, “have you seen them?”

Biting her bottom lip, she moved to the dresser and opened his drawer, retrieving a pair of thick socks then moving back to him, holding them out, “I put your clean clothes in your drawer and I’m washing your dirty things in with mine.”

Mulder took them from her but didn’t move to pull them on, choosing instead to look from his luggage to the socks then to the dresser, moving back to her face a moment later, more awake than before but still needing clarification, “I have a drawer? With stuff in it?” Scully wished she didn’t have skin that showed every embarrassment and this time was no exception, her face heating immediately, cheeks flaming red before she could figure out an answer. He didn’t force one, simply giving her a small smile, then beckoning her closer with his pointer finger, which he wiggled free of the blankets, “come here.” Obeying, she stopped just short of his knees but having none of that, he reached out and pulled her closer, his thighs holding her in place. Tossing his handful of socks beside him, he circled his arms around her waist, lacing his hands loosely across her lower back, “is that my drawer permanently now or just a ‘this time’ thing?”

Scully shut her eyes, resting her forehead against his as she shrugged, “I swear to God, we do everything in the wrong damn order.”

“No, we don’t … well, actually,” as he moved his head slightly to rub the side of his nose against hers, “we do but hell, it keeps our lives interesting.”

Shutting down her immediate and incredibly strong urge to carry out one of her standard, knee-jerk reactions including but by no means limited to pulling away, lying, joking, inveigling, obfuscating or down-right panicking, she moved her hands to grip his forearms from below, fingers moving gently over the nubs of his elbows, “I thought maybe it would be nice to have clean socks here whenever you wanted them.”

“So it’s just a clean sock thing, then? What if I wanted to, say, leave a shirt here or maybe some shampoo? A pair of jeans or even, I don’t know, some clean underwear?”

Hearing the amusement in his voice, she squeezed his arms, “you’re making fun of me.”

Scully felt him smile, “not really. I’m just entertained that you moved me into your apartment while I was asleep.”

“I didn’t move you in. I just … I made it more convenient for you.”

Now he chuckled, pulling back slightly so when she opened her eyes, she could see his twinkling at her, “true love means making it convenient to get super thick, warm, fuzzy socks at,” glancing quickly to the side, “12:38am. I can totally get behind that.”

She stopped fighting her own smile at this point, jumping off the cliff she’d been debating for a damn long time now. Coming back forward, she brushed her lips over his, the lightest of touches to make him wonder if it had really even happened at all. 

It was shorter than their New Year’s kiss but somehow, a kiss at 3am in the dark of a bedroom while in pajamas seemed to count more, regardless of length and before Scully could get more than half an inch away from him, he pulled her back, “I want another one of those.”

He felt her smile against his mouth and slipped his tongue between her lips before she could shy away and change her mind. Of their own volition, it seemed, Scully’s hands glided up and over his arms, across his shoulders and found the back of his neck, thumbs settling behind his ears while her fingers conformed to the back of his skull, massaging his scalp lightly as she went.

Humming low, he moved his head back a few inches, “you realize I’m never going to stop kissing you.”

Lips cherry, cheeks pink, eyes shining in the glow of some unseen light outside, he couldn’t imagine anyone more beautiful in the world, “that might make work a little tough?”

Eyes dropping to lock on those beckoning lips, “I’ll resign right now if necessary.”

“But then I wouldn’t get to see you all day, every day.”

“Damn catch-22’s.” Working his fingers under her shirt, grazing her waist before drifting to her sides, he squeezed her lightly, “as long as you know that in my perfect world, I’d never stop kissing you or touching you or gazing at you, as Holman would say.”

Shifting her hands so his cheeks were in her palms, she came in to meet his mouth again, taking him by surprise when her tongue parting his lips, running over his teeth once before pressing even further in. Mulder’s head spun giddily, sensors on overload, heart racing faster every time he actually comprehended the situation, one split second at a time.

He moved his head away from her, leaning away slightly, “hang on.”

Scully moved with him, blindly following his mouth forward, then stopping once he spoke. Taking in his shallow breathing, his darting eyes, his flushed face, “are you okay?”

“I’ve got to be the dumbest person on the planet.” Dropping his hands to her hips, “I have you, stunning in front of me, allowing me the privilege of kissing you and I’m about to ask if we can slow down a little because I’m already beyond my ability to process and just … God, I am totally fucking pathetic.”

She laughed at him, pure and simple and perfect, “so am I. My heart’s beating so fast I’m pretty sure another minute and I’ll be passed out on the floor.”

Letting out a deep, whooshing breath, he grinned at her, “thank you for being pathetic with me.”

Landing a light kiss on his forehead, “now that we got that out of the way, think we should try to get some sleep. I mean, we have to work in about six hours.”

Mulder groaned quietly, “it just seems wrong but we probably should.”

“Then move over so I can have my side of the bed.” She held up his socks, “do you still need these?”

Grabbing them, he tossed them over her shoulder in the general direction of the dresser, “nope. You’ve made me quite warm, thank you very much.” He didn’t move to lie down, though, “do I get to keep my drawer?”

“You get to keep your drawer.”

“I like having a drawer.”

“I like you having a drawer.”

Mulder proceeded to climb the buttons on her pajama top with his fingers, “I also like your shirt. It has very handy buttons.”

She was warming up once again, “why are they very handy?”

“Because,” finally reaching the top, he popped the first button open without hesitation, “it’s like opening a present. I can open one slowly and then stop and marvel at what was hidden under it, before I move on.”

Praying he wouldn’t stop with just the first one, she wiggled a few inches closer, “I thought we were going to try to get some sleep.”

Mulder’s finger traced along the small triangle of skin he’d revealed, “changed my mind. I’d like to see what’s behind button number two, please.”

About to pull him in for another kiss, he instead sat up straighter, slowly opening one button at another, taking a moment or three between each to admire the creamy paleness of her skin, the smattering of freckles and the blue veins, each of which he wanted to taste from top to bottom. Scully stopped thinking by then, choosing instead to watch in amazement as her partner, her friend, her Mulder, undressed her slowly in the dark.

Once her pajama top hung loose, he didn’t spread in open as she had expected, instead leaned in, running his nose from the dip of her throat to the indent of her belly button, “you smell like perfection, Scully, did you know that?”

Weaving her fingers up through his hair, “no I didn’t.”

“It’s intoxicating.” Pushing aside the material with his lips, he began kissing across her abdomen, hands sliding from her hips to her back, fingers slipping under the elastic of her pants, then, in one quick swoop, he pushed them and her underwear down, settling the clothing at her knees while he lightly nibbled just below her ribs.

Not expecting this at all, she let out a giggle of surprise, the air suddenly cool on her bare ass and the instant, tingling, knee-weakening wave of arousal shooting through her made her grab tightly to his shoulders. He chuckled into her skin, then, hands firmly gripping her backside, he looked up at her, mouth leaving her long enough to playfully ask, “you still with me up there?”

Now in the middle of a second, fairly overwhelming shudder, she answered as best she could, only to find her voice an octave higher and trembling, “yup. Still here. Dying a little and about to fall down but still here.”

“Well, how about we give you something else to do so you forget about falling down?”

Oh, the eight thousand things that scampered through her thoughts in that nanosecond pause before, “what did you have in mind?”

Letting completely go of her, he raised his arms, “if you could help me off with this shirt, that’d be great. It’s a little warm in here.”

She reached immediately for the hem of his shirt and pulled up gently, taking care with the collar to leaving nose and ears intact. Figuring he’d think her one of those fold the clothes girls, he nearly laughed when she tossed the shirt over her shoulder, looking his square in his dark eyes as she smiled, “yeah, I’m not folding that. Enjoy my carefree attitude while you can.”

Holding eye contact, he moved his foot until it was stepping directly on the roadblock of pants and underwear still halted at her knees. With a sultry grin in her direction, he pushed down, then told her to ‘move’ quietly. She lifted one foot, then the other, returning his smile the moment he shifted his leg and sent the aforementioned attire flying across the carpet in the general direction of the slowly growing pile.

My God, would her voice ever calm back down, let alone her jumping belly, her aching clit or her incredibly taut nipples, “Glad we got that out of the way.”

“Still tired, Scully?”

“Just tired of waiting for you to take your pants off.”

With a head nod, “nicely played, partner. Impending sex makes you awfully saucy.”

After a very deep and very slowly released breath, she felt she might have finally gotten her hormone-voice under control, trying and succeeding to speak without sounding like a 13-year old boy seeing his first pair of boobs, “still waiting for your pants, Mulder.”

“In a minute. Patience, woman.” Reaching up, he parted her shirt the rest of the way, unveiling first one breast, then the other, the playful look in his eye disappearing to make room from a look of complete and utter amazement, bordering on reverence, if Scully read it correctly.

She was pretty sure she had, especially after he moved his eyes upwards to meet hers, “you are the most beautiful thing ever made since the beginning of time.”

Her entire body flushed immediately, heat cascading from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, causing her to lose what little control she had over her present situation as her eyes filled with tears. Automatically, she attempted to reach up, to wipe them away, to shield herself from him, but sliding his hand swiftly upwards, he blocked her movement, “don’t … don’t hide it, okay, please?”

“What? You find crying a turn-on?”

He could sense she was about to deflate, give up whatever gains they’d made in the past 20 minutes and retreat so he went for broke, “no but I’m so in love with you that I don’t want to miss a thing you do, ever. I don’t want to miss one tear or one laugh or one sleepy mumble at 2am.” Shifting her backwards, he stood up, wrapping his arms tightly around her, “and I will never again miss an opportunity to tell you how stop-in-my-tracks-and-forget-how-to-breath stunning you are.”

More tears chased each other down her face as she hugged him closer, then moved her hands to his waist, taking as much care as she had with his shirt not to catch appendages as she pushed his pajama pants down past his thighs. His chuckle in her ear made her smile and turning her head so she could catch his lips, “and I will never miss an opportunity to remove your pants.”

This made him laugh again, kissing her deeply before letting go, “you won’t get an argument from me.” Next he made short work of drying her face with his hands, then, “so, we have one piece of offending clothing left to go. Are we leaving it on or what?”

Suddenly mesmerized with the well-toned chest filling her vision, she stumbled over her words, “you choice … your choose … um … shit, whatever,” as she wiggled from her shirt, sending it fluttering to join its counterparts.

He’d have made some snarky remark that was half-formed already on his tongue but then he caught sight of swelling, pink-hued breasts and his own English abilities went out the window just as quickly as hers had. Eyes laser focused on his come-to-life, seven-year fantasy, he couldn’t remember how to make his waist bend or his lips work in order to get to them as quickly as he needed to, given any blood he had left in his brain had gone south instantly.

Scully, however, had enough of her faculties left to push him backwards by the chest, then climb on top, dragging herself up him, all parts rubbing all parts until she was hovering over him, soaking wet and tired of waiting, “I like being on top, Mulder. Any objections?”

He found his voice quickly, “fuck, no, Scully. No objections at all. Ever. Never ever.”

Without another wasted moment, she began sliding him inside, moving inch by painfully slow inch until he could go no further, as deep inside as the position allowed. The moan she let out once she was settled flush against his hips took him to his own edge of insanity and hands on her thighs, he whispered up at her, his words bringing her with him, “I could stay inside you forever and it would never be enough.”

Leaning down, her breasts pressed to his chest, she kissed him, “but we can do our best, again and again and again.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Another hour or so had passed before they finally settled back down under the sheets. Mulder, contrary to popular belief that sex made the male half of the species pass out in satiated exhaustion, was fairly awake, staring across a vast expanse of eight inches at the feisty, fiery, perfection-in-a-five-foot-two frame, red-haired love of his life, “Scully?”

Equal parts awake and asleep, she gave him a soft smile that stirred his soul and a few other things he’d have to ignore for now, “yeah?”

“Did you plan on seducing me with my drawer or were the two totally unrelated?”

“Shut up and go to sleep, Mulder.”

Not to be deterred, “seducing, got it.”

“Be quiet, Mulder, I’m trying to go to sleep.”

Miraculously, he was quiet for a minute before, “thank you for seducing me tonight with my drawer.”

This got another smile from her as well as her hand reaching across to him, laying her finger over his lips, “I didn’t seduce you … And you’re welcome.”

He didn’t really plan on sleeping but he knew she was tired so he just watched her in silence, marveling at how life sometimes went so damn crazy askew but ended up perfect. So caught in his study of her that he didn’t notice her fingers move from his lips to stroke his jaw, smooth across his cheekbone, settle on the pulse-point of his neck, “Mulder?”

Out of his reverie, “yeah?”

“Did you really think I was beautiful the first time you met me or was that just you seducing me tonight?”

“With utmost seriousness, Scully, you reached out to shake my hand and I couldn’t believe they let someone as breathtaking as you even come within a mile of Ol’ Spooky. I’d have put you on a pedestal, not shuffled you to the basement but their stupidity was my miracle.” Seeing her blush a deep red again but her eyes remain dry, he gave her a familiar, happy grin, “what about me? Did you think me handsome at all or what?”

“I remember being scared out of my mind and thinking there’s this cute guy in glasses who read my thesis and wants to take me to the forest.”

Bringing her hand up to his mouth, he kissed her knuckles, “I read it twice.”

“Well, if you had told me that I would have taken you right there on the floor, no questions asked.”

Smiling wide enough for the skin to crinkle around his eyes, “you’re funny when you’re tired.”

She scooted closer, snuggling her head under his chin, taking a deep breath of him before sighing happily, “true love means accepting your partner’s witty banter at 2am.”

“True love means loving your partner along with her witty banter, regardless of the time of day.”

“You’re not going to go to sleep, are you?”

Mulder ran his fingers lightly through her hair, “probably not.”

“Then it’s safe to tell you that I’m hungry and think we should go out for pancakes?”

“You were exhausted like 8 seconds ago!”

Kissing him quickly on the chin, “but now I’m hungry.”

He sat up immediately, pulling her along with him, “come on, woman, time to find pancakes.”

Suddenly very awake, she bounced out of the bed after him, “I’m also thinking milkshake.”

“Sex is going to make me fat, isn’t it?”

Smacking his bare ass as she scrambled by him, “I’ll keep you anyways.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

The diner was quiet, tables clean, sugar filled, waitress reading, cook napping and Mulder and Scully hunkered down in the corner booth. They’d been fairly talkative before the food arrived and the silence between them while eating felt comfortable but once she’d licked the last drop of syrup from the corner of her mouth and wiped her hands on her napkin, she sat back against the cracked vinyl of the booth, resting her head against the wall, the silence devolving into heaviness. Mulder, who had his feet on the seat beside her, crossed his arm, tilted his head to one side and studied her not from the perspective of new lover but old friend, “don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Exactly what you’re doing?”

“And what exactly am I doing?”

Moving his arms to rest across the back of the booth, “you’re going back to being Scully.”

She gave him an odd look, “then who was I before?”

Now he shook his head back and forth, “just … stop thinking about what you’re thinking about, please.”

“I’m thinking about how I might like a piece of pie to take home with me.”

Any happy feelings drifted out the window but he kept his voice quiet, “no, you’re not.”

Scully stood up without a word, tossing some crumpled bills from her pocket onto the table, “I’ll be in the car.”

Well, that was a pleasant four hours now gone to crap. Standing as well, he grabbed the bills, shoved them in his sweatshirt, then went to the counter, paying with his credit card and purchasing two pieces of the pumpkin pie. The waitress was too tired to care about changing his bill so she presented them as ‘on the house’ and prayed he’d leave so she could zone back out into her book.

Once in the car, Mulder handed her the takeout container, “hold, please.”

“Okay.” That’s all he got from her until she realized they weren’t heading back to her place but somewhere else, “Where are we going?”

“Just wait.”

Knowing his Mulder voice, she kept her mouth shut up until they were parked outside Maggie Scully’s house, under the large maple tree and beside the fire hydrant. About to tell him about the hydrant, he shut the car off, opened the door, proceeded to open her door and escorted her to the sizable front porch. Taking her by the arms, he turned her and sat her down on the large wicker couch, settling beside her, feet on the railing before, “go for it.”

In a barely whispered voice, “What the hell are we doing on my mother’s porch at 3am?”

“Watch it, Scully or we’re going to wake her up and she’ll come out here and it’ll be a lot harder to deal with this with your mom hanging around.”

“Deal with what?!”

“You were exactly 2.5 minutes away from total meltdown in that diner. You remembered you are scared to death to love me and forgot that you actually do love me and that I know that you love me.”

“Just take me home, Mulder, please?”

“Not until we figure this out.”

She was getting pissed at this point, “I just wanted a damn piece of pie.”

“My ass you wanted a piece of pie. You don’t even eat pie.”

“I … I can start eating pie.”

Standing up, she tried to walk away but he grabbed the tail of her shirt, “why are you so damn stubborn sometimes?”

“I’m not stubborn. I’m nowhere near stubborn when I’m in the company of one Fox William Mulder.” She glared from his hand to his face, “now can we just go already?”

Mulder settled in for the long haul, grip tightening on her clothes, “I love you, am in love with you and would have really liked to have an argument about toilet seat shutting three hours from now but instead, I took you out for fucking pancakes and suddenly you are doubting that anything you know in the universe will ever work again because you let loose for two damn hours and had sex with me, which is apparently tantamount to a nuclear bomb in your world.” Tugging her backwards, “so would you please sit your ass down and tell me what to do so this doesn’t get so fucking convoluted and difficult that it’s over before it’s even begun.”

“What the hell do we do tomorrow when we have to go out there into that world and you get shot at and I have to leave you behind, bleeding, while I go chase down this suspect that I could give two shits about because you’re somewhere behind me, hurt and needing my help?” Her voice went up, cracking through her escalating whispers, “what do I do tomorrow, Mulder?”

Getting off the cushion, he crouched in front of her, taking her hands in his, “tomorrow, we do our jobs just like we have the last seven years and don’t tell me you didn’t love me back then. I knew you did the moment before I went into the hospital with Modell. You held my hands and looked at me with those baby blues and I knew you loved me.” Knowing he had her for the moment, “Hell, I don’t know how you didn’t realize it then because the tech guy sure did. When I was returning the equipment, he nudged me and asked if you were available to which I answered a very swift and presumptuous no.” With an embarrassed smirk, “I hope you don’t mind that I told him that.”

Calming only slightly, Scully shook her head, “I don’t mind.”

Mulder continued, hoping some of his words were sinking in, “this time, though, it’ll be better. We’ll have to do terrible, unspeakable, violent, frightening things but instead of cowering on my couch while you cry on yours, we can be together. We’ll get to come home together.”

“But what …”

He stopped her, “we’re gonna get the job done, then I’m going to take you in my arms and hug you and cry on your shoulder and make you dinner and drag you into the shower with me and we’ll make love and we’ll fuck like bunnies and watch movies and eat ice cream and ignore the world for a few days.”

“That’s basically what we do now … except for the sex part.”

“All the better!” Leaning forward, he pulled her into a hug, “nothing will change except the naked part and hell, while that will last quite awhile I hope, eventually we will be old and gray and creaking and aching and we’ll run a little slower and we’ll retire and we’ll have a porch like this and we’ll sit on it and have cats in our laps and giant black dogs at our feet and years to enjoy each other.”

“What if they send me to Omaha or something?”

“Then I’ll learn to speak Nebraskan and everything will be fine.”

Her heart was back to normal pace again, but just to clarify for her sanity sake, “everything will be fine?”

Mulder pulled her face towards his, resting his forehead against hers, “everything will be fine.”

Tears rolled down and through them, Scully let out a shuddering sigh, “I really don’t like pie.”

“No kidding. I didn’t get it for you, anyways, I got it for me.”

Hands on his cheeks, she pushed back his hair, “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too. I didn’t do that right. I pushed you too far too fast. The narcissistic psychologist got in the way of the Mulder who never wants to see you cry.”

“My closed-off panicky stubborn pain in the ass got in the way of my lovable, closed-off panicky stubborn pain in the ass.”

Climbing back up beside her, he took her hand in his, pulling it to his lap, “are you in this for the long haul, Scully?”

She shifted her legs, swinging them over his lap, straddling so she could face him, “I am in this for the very long haul.”

“That makes me very happy.”

“Can I ask you something though?”

Enjoying her breasts at eye level, even if they were, at the moment, wrapped in a tshirt and then a sweatshirt, “anything?”

“Why mom’s house? We could have had this talk at my place or even yours or in the car.”

Mulder tore his eyes away from her chest to look up at her, “if we had done this at your place, you would have shut down, gathered up my things and escorted me to the door in silence. If we had gone to my place, you would have been way more defensive because you weren’t on your turf. In the car, I need to either pay attention to driving. Here, the only turf is Maggie’s. Nobody gets the home-court advantage.”

“She’s my mom, Mulder. I think I’d have the advantage.”

Hands moving to grip her waist, the warmth of her abdomen against his thumbs, “nobody trumps Mama Scully, regardless of time of day.” Giving her a studied look, “it’s like ‘our place’ hotel rooms … even ground.” First she smiled, then she gave him the most stunned look he’d ever witnessed from her and it confused him completely, “what? Why do you suddenly look like you discovered the secret of the universe?”

“I didn’t. I just had a thought that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside and it surprised me.”

“What was the thought?”

Scully leaned forward, settling herself against his chest, smiling into his shirt, “ask me some other time.”


End file.
